Seeing through ears for the visually challenged

16D260007, 16D260009, 16D260012

Brief Introduction
Our project is based on the concept of echo - ​a sound or sounds caused by the reflection of
sound waves from a surface back to the listener. This concept is used to calculate distance from
objects, which are then displayed and converted to stereo audio signals to aid the visually
challenged

Theory
Distance of objects

Procedure for measuring distance is as follows

❖ Emit short, high-frequency sound pulses using ultrasonic transmitter.

❖ Pulses propagate in the air at the velocity of sound. On striking an object, they are
reflected back as echo signals and received by ultrasonic sensors.
❖ Sensor computes the time between emitting the signal and receiving the echo, which is
then multiplied with velocity of sound(340m/s) to calculate distance (d = t*v)

Source: ​https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/UploadFile/167ad2/how-to-use-ultrasonic-sensor-hc-sr04-in-arduino/

The ultrasonic sensor uses a dynamic microphone. A dynamic microphone is preferred over a
condenser microphone because the dynamic microphone is directional and aids better in
localizing the object. Brief functioning of dynamic microphone stated below:

Sound moves cone that moves attached coil of wire in field of magnet, generator effect
produces a voltage that images the sound pressure, that can be amplified
Source : ​http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Audio/mic.html

Radar

● The sensor is mounted on a servo motor, controlled with arduino to provide range of
detection.Sensor scans the area for presence of an object, which is displayed on screen
● When objects are closer than a specified limit the user hears a sound from that direction
alerting him/her.

Applications
It serves the aim of aiding visually challenged people be alert about the environment around
them. All that the person will need is a stereo headset to alert about close by objects. We could
rather use a small vibrator motor instead of headset and integrate with stick, to aid while walking
on roads.

The conventional uses include radars used by Marines, Airplanes etc.

Real life applications

● Doppler Radar
○ Measurement - Velocity data about objects at a distance wrt radar
○ Principle - Object's motion has altered the frequency of the returned signal
● Police for speeding fines - Speed Guns
● Professional Spectator Sports - bowling speed, athletes etc.
● Collision Avoidance Systems in cars

Hardware
LIST OF HARDWARE USED
Ultrasonic sensor (HC SR-04)
An ultrasonic sensor was used to detect the distance of the objects and obstacles in front of the
device. The main reasons for it to be chosen were
● Sensitivity and precision
● Availability
● Doesn’t cause disturbance to human ears
● Low price
● Easy interfacing

Useful information
● Range: (2cm to 4m)
● Trigger input signal: 10µs TTL high (puts a limit on sensitivity)

Timing diagram Front and back image of the sensor

Source: ​http://www.micropik.com/PDF/HCSR04.pdf​ Source: ​https://randomnerdtutorials.com/complete-guide-for-ultrasonic-sensor-hc-sr04/

Servo Motor (MG90s)

A servo motor was used to provide incremental actuations in order to scan the environment with
the ultrasonic sensor. Some of the reasons for it to be chosen were
● Excellent angular actuation
● Low price
● Easy interfacing
Useful Information
● PWM period: 20ms (puts a large constraint on speed of the overall system)
Source: ​https://engineering.tamu.edu/media/4247823/ds-servo-mg90s.pdf

Stereo Headset
No specific consideration were taken as the computer already has the drivers to run the
Headset. However, during actual implementation, the latency of the stereo headset and the
corresponding drivers must also be taken into consideration

Circuit Diagram
Our circuit was similar to the ones shown in the image below

Source: ​https://howtomechatronics.com/projects/arduino-radar-project/
Code and Control

The code written (python and arduino) may be found ​here

The communication and flow of control can be seen in the block diagram below.

We have used the following libraries in the python code:

● serial : To read each line from the arduino’s serial monitor
● numpy : Create array
● math : in order to use π
● matplotlib : To plot the incoming data
● drawnow : Works on real-time data
● pygame : To play the audio files whenever the the defined range
Note : In the arduino code, the variable ​arduinoData​ is defined which uses ​‘com11’​ and a baud
rate of ​‘9600’​ so they have to be changed accordingly with the arduino’s baud rate(in our case
we have used baud rate of 9600) and its connection to the port.
The baud rate is 9600. The pulse produced by the ultrasonic sensor is 10μs wide and the servo
waits at each angle(1°) for 150ms.