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You are here: Home › Smart Cane Project (IIT Gandhinagar)
https://sites.psu.edu/resnasdc/2012/06/13/smart-cane-project-iit-gandhinagar/ 1/5
4/21/2019 Smart Cane Project (IIT Gandhinagar) | RESNA Student Design Competition
Abstract
Out of all sense organs which humans have, 85% of the physical input data from environment come through
“Eyes”. Nearly 37 million of world’s population is blind, and hence deprived of one of the most important and
informative asset “Eyes”. Our main motivation was from our visit to Blind People Association situated (BPA)
in our City, Ahmedabad. We noticed that normal blind canes used by blinds have certain limitations like
detecting pot-holes, stairs, distant objects, above knee obstacles etc. at the same time currently available
sensor equipped canes in India are very costly and unaffordable by Indian people. We took a lot of inputs
from disable people at BPA and came up with the idea of developing a economical sensor equipped cane
capable of assisting blind to navigate easily. Our final design is quite cheaper than existing alternatives and
warns the person via vibratory and auditory signals.
Introduction/Background
Our goal was to build a smart cane which can help blind people in navigation and make it available at much
cheaper prices without compromising with the functionalities by minimizing its maintenance and operating
cost. For the purpose, we many times visited BPA Ahmedabad and performed Consumer Needs Analysis to
come up with something which fits their need with as much accuracy as we can.
1. Potholes detection is the first priority. This was a bit surprising for us!
2. Fold ability of cane is necessary.
3. Head level obstacle detection is necessary.
4. Vibratory feedback is preferred over auditory.
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4/21/2019 Smart Cane Project (IIT Gandhinagar) | RESNA Student Design Competition
Problem Statement:
Methods Brainstormed:
Final Design:
The cane is mounted with two ultrasonic sensors one near the handle and one at the bottom.
Upper ultrasonic sensor sends ultrasonic waves that after reflecting from any object get
received by the detector of the sensor.
The time taken between emission and detection of the ultrasound waves is measure of the distance of
the obstacle from the sensor.
The distance is processed in the microcontroller to provide appropriate output in form of
vibrations through vibrator mounted inside the handle.
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4/21/2019 Smart Cane Project (IIT Gandhinagar) | RESNA Student Design Competition
The lower ultrasound detects variation in the distance between sensor and the ground level.
If the distance between the sensor and the ground level increases above certain threshold that it is an
indication of the pothole in the region ahead.
Similarly if this distance increase above certain threshold than it is an indication of a stone or
staircase. Microcontroller again processes this information to give proper output to the user indicating
the possibility of pothole.
Cells placed inside the cane to minimize size of box outside cane.
Center of mass near handle of the cane to prevent fatigue due to added weight.
Vibratory & auditory feedback for distinguishing between pot holes & front obstacles
Giving the smart cane to few blind people to get their feedback about it.
Implementing any modifications as insisted by blind people in their feedback.
Developing marketable product by using standard hardware materials, PCB’s etc.
Evaluation
The final device was evaluated to assess durability, client ease of use, device effectiveness and safety.
Durability was assessed during the design phase. Ease of use was assessed by observation and actual
testing by the client. Detailed accuracy analysis and input optimization was done and addressed through
redesign.
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4/21/2019 Smart Cane Project (IIT Gandhinagar) | RESNA Student Design Competition
Acknowledgement
We’d like to thank Blind People Association Ahmedabad, our institute IIT Gandhinagar and Prof. Girish
Singhal for assisting us throughout the project. It was a huge learning and an eye-opening experience. We’d
also like to thank the people from BPA for giving constructive feedback and advice for our device.
The Design and Evaluation of a Universal Clamp for a Wheelchair Lay-Tray System (University of Pittsburgh)
Using Smartphone Technology to Bring Intelligent Text-To-Speech to the Nonverbal Disabled Community
(UMass Lowell)
© 2019 RESNA Student Design Competition. All Rights Reserved.
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