My project is an Arduino based module that will help the visually impaired people to be able to sense whether there are obstacles in front of them (further than the reach of their walking cane) and easily let their family/friends know their location with the help of Internet of Things.
The main target that i was hoping to achieve is to help visually impaired people. I'm designing an Arduino based project in the form of a walking cane. The cane would consist of sensors that would inform user about obstacles in the surroundings. Moreover, the cane would also keep track of user’s location. The user’s family members would be able check on user’s location via mobile messaging service, since the Arduino will be able to send google map URLs containing the location.
People who are blind or visually impaired often have problems in navigating unfamiliar areas. In fact, travelling is one of the biggest challenges faced by visually impaired people. Walking on busy roads and street can be a big challenge. As a result, such people choose to travel with a friend or family member when traveling in unfamiliar areas. In the real world, living with visual disabilities can prove very difficult. Travelers usually face pavements and other obstacles that are hard to avoid for a blind person. And because of such difficulties, moving independently can prove a big challenge.
Some solutions exist for helping blind people in walking but the existing systems are not as effective in helping the blind. The current problems are as follows:
- Simple Walking Canes:
These sticks currently used by some of the blind are simple sticks and an object has to be within range of the stick for the user to know there’s an obstacle.
- Pet Dogs:
Having a pet dog can be very expensive for the blind, since most of the blind people find it hard to work.
- Location:
Blind People usually do not know where they are and cannot let their family/friends know of their location.
The system is designed for visually impaired people. It is an Arduino based system integrated on a walking cane that uses Ultrasonic sensors for obstacle detection. If an obstacle is detected in the user’s range, the cane would tell the user in the form of different beeps and alarms. At this point, we are assuming that the user is not hearing impaired, so that he or she can detect the alarm sounds. Apart from Ultrasonic sensor for obstacle detection, the system would also have a GPS module to track the location of user. This location can be checked by user’s relative using mobile SMS service. The module would be capable of receiving SMS message from the family member and reply back the location automatically.