Developing an attachable electronic device for environmental sensing

Abstract

This Project seeks to develop an affordable electronic device, which can be attached to the white cane of a visually handicapped. The device complements the functions of a white cane and bolster it with environmental sensing capabilities, allowing the visually handicapped to navigate around his or her environment safely. In this work, proximity detection sensors utilized ultrasonic and infrared technologies in detecting hanging objects, incoming steps and obstacles. Bluetooth technologies were also employed in the efficient locating of a visually handicapped user’s white cane. Rapid prototyping techniques such as 3D printing were applied, allowing a customized and user-friendly product to be designed and built. Experiments carried out in both indoor and outdoor settings have proved to be successful.