A student at Novosibirsk State Technical University, (NETI), has developed a device that helps people with visual impairment navigate in space. The device works on the principle of parking sensors: the intensity of vibration increases as you approach an object that is at eye level within a radius of 1.5 m.
The project "Assistant for the blind and visually impaired TREOKK" took the third place at the exhibition of student projects "Start to success" according to the results of 2023.
"The idea came to me unexpectedly: I witnessed how a person with visual disabilities could not notice an overhanging tree branch in front of him, which led to an accident. I realized that canes and guide dogs cannot warn of danger from above and began to think about which device could help minimize such situations. The idea arose that the possibility of combining glasses and parking sensors (an auxiliary sensor system that warns the driver about an obstacle approaching when parking) can give the necessary result," Polina Muzyka, a first–year student of the Faculty of Automation and Computer Engineering of NSTU-NETI.
The parktronic itself consists of a plastic case, a Bluetooth module built into the board, a vibration motor, and a laser sensor. It recognizes the nearest obstacle at a distance of 1.5 m. According o the developer, there are studies that confirm that this distance is enough to prepare and bypass the obstacle. Information from the sensor is transmitted to the motor, which signals a person about an interference with the help of increasing vibration: the closer to the object, the stronger the vibration level. At this stage, the first mock-up sample of the housing of the future device is ready. The plans are to reduce it several times so that it is possible to integrate the device into the arm of the glasses.
The next step in the work is to create an application with a voice assistant that will use an earphone to inform the user of important information about the nuances of movement and route.
"There are resources that promptly report what light is at the traffic light, where there is ice, and where there is a large puddle. I would like to connect such a card with a voice assistant in my application, not only for safe movement but, also for the implementation of a function with the ability to simply say "bread" and get a ready route to the nearest store. I think that the two channels of information in my device (vibration and voice assistant) will be very convenient and safe for people with visual impairment," Polina said about the plans.
It is important to note that the cost of the device is about three thousand rubles, which will further make the product as accessible as possible to users. The author of the project notes that its goal is to create an accessible and useful tool for interaction between a visually impaired person and the real world.