The traditional white cane is the go-to for most of the visually impaired population. However, the white cane has a steep learning curve, especially for those who were not born visually impaired and did not grow up walking with a cane or adaptive mobility device. One of the greatest challenges to such is detecting drop-offs. While the long cane has proven to be of greater benefit for drop-offs, such curbs are still easily missed if the user is not familiar with the cane. The goal of this project is to help with the detection of drop-offs with an attachment that will vibrate the cane when the user is approaching one.
As a team, we have developed a couple iterations of the prototype and have partnered with the Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired to test and adjust our attachment. Heading the circuitry and software of the project, I work out the wiring of the attachment and coding for the Arduino Uno. In our most recent iteration, we are using a gyroscope and lidar sensor as the core of our hardware.
