Smart Cane Assisted Mobility for the Visually Impaired
An efficient reintegration of the disabled people in the
family and society should be fulfilled; hence it is strongly needful to assist their diminished functions or to replace the totally lost
functions. Assistive technology helps in neutralizing the impairment.
Recent advancements in embedded systems have opened up a vast
area of research and development for affordable and portable assistive devices for the visually impaired. Granted there are many assistive devices on the market that are able to detect obstacles, and numerous research and development currently in process to
alleviate the cause, unfortunately the cost of devices, size of
devices, intrusiveness and higher learning curve prevents the visually impaired from taking advantage of available devices. This
project aims at the design and implementation of a detachable unit
which is robust, low cost and user friendly, thus, trying to
aggrandize the functionality of the existing white cane, to concede above-knee obstacle detection. The designed obstruction detector
uses ultrasound sensors for detecting the obstructions before direct contact. It bestows haptic feedback to the user in accordance with the position of the obstacle.
[1] Global data on blindness. Facts sheet, Key Facts of the World Health Organization; June 2012.
[2] Allan Dodds, "Mobility Training for Visually Handicapped People: A
Person-Centred Approach." pp 33-35, Croom Helm limited 1988.
[3] Borenstein, J., and I. Ulrich. "The Guide Cane ÔÇö A Computerized Travel Aid for the Active Guidance of Blind Pedestrians."International
Conference on Robotics and Automation, Albuquerque, NM, pp.1283-1288, Apr. 21-27, 1997.
[4] Benjamin, J. M., "The New C-5 Laser Cane for the Blind." Carnahan
Conference on Electronic Prosthetics, Univ. Kentucky Eng. Experiment Station, pp. 104-106, 1973.
[5] Wikipedia the free encyclopedia,2010, Lithium-Ion battery,
http://en.wikepedia.org/ Wiki/lithium-ion_battery, March 2012.
[6] Dodds, A. G., and J.D. Armstrong, and C.A. Shingledecker. "The
Nottingham Obstacle Detector: Development and Evaluation." Journal
of Visual Impairment and Blindness, v75 n5 p203- 09, May 1981.
[7] Mary T. (Terrie) Terlau, 2005, ÔÇÿK- Sonar and Student Miniguide:
Background, Features, Demonstrations and Applications", Center on
Disabilities Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, CSU
Northridge.
[8] Battery University, 2003, Charging Li-ion,
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries
, March 2012.
[9] Arduino, (2004), "Arduino- An Introduction", http://arduino.cc/en/ Dec
2011.Shiffman, Daniel (September 23, 2009).
[10] "Interview with Casey Reas and Ben Fry", Rhizome.org, Dec 2011.
[11] Wikipedia the free encyclopaedia, 2010, "Arduino",
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino, March 2012.
[12] Peter H. Aigrer and Brenan J.McCarragher, "Shared Control
Framework: Applied to a Robotic Aid for the Blind", IEEE Journal
Control Systems, Vol.19, No.2, pp40-46, April 1999.
[1] Global data on blindness. Facts sheet, Key Facts of the World Health Organization; June 2012.
[2] Allan Dodds, "Mobility Training for Visually Handicapped People: A
Person-Centred Approach." pp 33-35, Croom Helm limited 1988.
[3] Borenstein, J., and I. Ulrich. "The Guide Cane ÔÇö A Computerized Travel Aid for the Active Guidance of Blind Pedestrians."International
Conference on Robotics and Automation, Albuquerque, NM, pp.1283-1288, Apr. 21-27, 1997.
[4] Benjamin, J. M., "The New C-5 Laser Cane for the Blind." Carnahan
Conference on Electronic Prosthetics, Univ. Kentucky Eng. Experiment Station, pp. 104-106, 1973.
[5] Wikipedia the free encyclopedia,2010, Lithium-Ion battery,
http://en.wikepedia.org/ Wiki/lithium-ion_battery, March 2012.
[6] Dodds, A. G., and J.D. Armstrong, and C.A. Shingledecker. "The
Nottingham Obstacle Detector: Development and Evaluation." Journal
of Visual Impairment and Blindness, v75 n5 p203- 09, May 1981.
[7] Mary T. (Terrie) Terlau, 2005, ÔÇÿK- Sonar and Student Miniguide:
Background, Features, Demonstrations and Applications", Center on
Disabilities Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, CSU
Northridge.
[8] Battery University, 2003, Charging Li-ion,
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries
, March 2012.
[9] Arduino, (2004), "Arduino- An Introduction", http://arduino.cc/en/ Dec
2011.Shiffman, Daniel (September 23, 2009).
[10] "Interview with Casey Reas and Ben Fry", Rhizome.org, Dec 2011.
[11] Wikipedia the free encyclopaedia, 2010, "Arduino",
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino, March 2012.
[12] Peter H. Aigrer and Brenan J.McCarragher, "Shared Control
Framework: Applied to a Robotic Aid for the Blind", IEEE Journal
Control Systems, Vol.19, No.2, pp40-46, April 1999.
@article{"International Journal of Information, Control and Computer Sciences:64981", author = "Jayant Sakhardande and Pratik Pattanayak and Mita Bhowmick", title = "Smart Cane Assisted Mobility for the Visually Impaired", abstract = "An efficient reintegration of the disabled people in the
family and society should be fulfilled; hence it is strongly needful to assist their diminished functions or to replace the totally lost
functions. Assistive technology helps in neutralizing the impairment.
Recent advancements in embedded systems have opened up a vast
area of research and development for affordable and portable assistive devices for the visually impaired. Granted there are many assistive devices on the market that are able to detect obstacles, and numerous research and development currently in process to
alleviate the cause, unfortunately the cost of devices, size of
devices, intrusiveness and higher learning curve prevents the visually impaired from taking advantage of available devices. This
project aims at the design and implementation of a detachable unit
which is robust, low cost and user friendly, thus, trying to
aggrandize the functionality of the existing white cane, to concede above-knee obstacle detection. The designed obstruction detector
uses ultrasound sensors for detecting the obstructions before direct contact. It bestows haptic feedback to the user in accordance with the position of the obstacle.", keywords = "Visually impaired, Ultrasonic sensors, Obstruction detector, Mobility aid", volume = "6", number = "10", pages = "1278-4", }