Note 4 Ultrasonic cover will guide the visually impaired (but it’s not something new)

One of the more distinctive accessories that Samsung will offer for the upcoming Note 4 is an Ultrasonic cover that works like sonar to guide people suffering from visual impairment.

According to the folks over at SamMobile, Samsung is developing an Ultrasonic cover for the Note 4 that will alert users about the presence of obstacles in their path. Users will be able to choose from three distance settings – short, middle, and long – with the width of the detection field narrowing as the distance increase. The report also includes a product disclaimer, warning that the Ultrasonic cover is not a substitute for a walking cane or guide dog and that it shouldn’t be used as a mobility guide by itself.

The Ultrasonic cover isn’t entirely new – Samsung has actually announced the accessory back in March, for the little known mid-ranger Galaxy Core Advance.

Here’s the official description of the Ultrasonic cover from Samsung’s March press release:

The Ultrasonic Cover allows users to detect obstacles and navigate unfamiliar places by sending an alert through a vibration or TTS feedback. By holding the Cover in front of the user, it can enhance a visually impaired user’s awareness of their surroundings by sensing the presence of a person or object up to 2 meters away.

Along the Ultrasonic cover, Samsung also launched an accessory called Optical Scan Stand, which works with a compatible device to read out printed text through OCR technology. We expect Samsung to launch a similar accessory for the Note 4.

The Galaxy Note 4 will launch on September 3 at IFA Berlin. For up to date info on the hot new device, check out our rumor roundup!