Design And Construction Of A Smart Blind Walking Stick Using Arduino

ABSTRACT

Generally, blind people use a traditional cane for moving from one place to other. Although, white cane is the international symbol of blindness, it could not help them to detect place and to avoid obstacles. In this paper, we represent a model of walking stick for blind people. It consists of Arduino, IR sensor and buzzer. This stick can detect place and obstacles. Position detection part is done with IR sensor. IR sensor is used for detecting obstacles. Here, the buzzer produces two types of sound. When the blind reaches to his destination, buzzer buzzes continuously. When the blind faces any obstacles, buzzer buzzes discontinuously. By hearing this two types of sound, blind can be confirmed about his destination and also can avoid obstacles in front of him. The whole system is designed to be small, light and is used in conjunction with the white cane so that it could ensure safety of the blind.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

ABSTRCT

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER ONE

• INTRODUCTION
• BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
• OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
• SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
• METHODOLOGY
• PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0      LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1     OVERVIEW OF BLINDNESS

2.2     REVIEW OF THE STUDY

2.3     DESCRIPTION OF ARDUINO

2.4   DESCRIPTION OF IR SENSOR

2.5   THEORY OF IR SENSOR OPERATION

2.6   THEORY OF BUZZER/SPEAKER

2.7   THEORY VIBRATION MOTOR DRIVER

CHAPTER THREE

DESIGN METHODOLOGY

3.1      SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM

3.2      DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM

3.3      SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

3.4      SYSTEM OPERATION

3.5      COMPONENTS LIST

3.6      CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION AND CONNECTIONS

3.7     CIRCUIT WORKING PRINCIPLE

3.8     SYSTEM PROGRAMME

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULT ANALYSIS

4.1 CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE AND TESTING

4.2 ASSEMBLING OF SECTIONS

4.3 PACKAGING

4.4 MOUNTING PROCEDURE

4.5 TESTING

4.6 RESULT ANALYSIS

4.7 COST ANALYSIS

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0      CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATION AND REFERENCES

• CONCLUSIONS
• RECOMMENDATION

5.2     REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                        INTRODUCTION

Eyes are the most important sense of organ of human. We perceive up to 80 per cent of all impressions by means of our sight. According to the 2014 statistics of World Health Organization, 285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide, 39 million are blind and 246 have low vision. The people with low vision or no vision suffer from various problems. Mobility and orientation are two of them [1]. The traditional and oldest mobility aids for the blind are the white cane and guide dog. As white cane is the international symbol of blindness, the visual presence of white cane helps to understand others that the user is blind. It also helps the blind to reach destination and avoid obstacles in ground but it could not protect him from all level of obstacles. On the other hand, Guide dog is able to detect and analyze complex situations: cross walks, stairs, potential danger, know paths and more. But guide dogs are still far from being affordable, around the price of a nice car, and their average working time is limited, an average of 7 years. So these traditional mobility aids have many drawbacks.

1.1                                          BACKGROND OF THE PROJECT

A number of navigation systems for aiding the blind have been developed already. This developed system can be categorized into two groups. The first group is Electronic Travel Aids (ETAs) and the second group is Electronic Orientation Aids (EOAs). ETAs are designed to create a safe journey by detecting obstacles using ultrasonic and proximity sensor [1].

An arduino blind stick with ultrasonic and proximity sensor for detecting obstacle was developed [2]. It used stereo camera and dual feedback system .Another system for detecting obstacles was created [5]. It was a wheeled stick. When it detected obstacles, it automatically steered around and made the user to follow the obstacles free path without any conscious effort.

PROBLEM DEFINITION

There is approximately 36.9 million people in the world are blind in 2002 according to World Health Organization. Majority of them are using a conventional white cane to aid in navigation. The limitation in white cane is that the information’s are gained by touching the objects by the tip of the cane. The traditional length of a white cane depends on the height of user and it extends from the floor to the person’s sternum. Blind people also face great problems in moving from place to another in the town and the only way for them is Guide dogs which can cost about $20, 000 and they can be useful for about 5 – 6 years. They also have a great problem to identify the objects he frequently used in his house as kitchen tools and clothes. And also he may face a great problem in control his electric devices or have a security problem and he can’t face it. This work is aim at solving these problems. To help the user moving easily indoor and outdoor we’ll use ultrasound sensor to detect the barriers on his way and alert him by 2 ways vibration motor which speed increases when the distance decreases and voice alert told him the distance between him and the barrier. To solve the problem of moving outside home from place to another we’ll design a software to be used in smart phones to help him in moving from place to another with voice orders without any external help he just say the place he want to go then the phone will guide him with voice orders to arrive this place. To help him to identify the objects we’ll use RFID every important object will have tag or id when the reader read the id it will told him what it is by voice. Inside the home we’ll design a system to control all electronic devices by voice orders and also a security system designed especially for them the most important in it is the fire alarm when it detects a fire it will alert him by a call to his mobile phone and another call to his friends near him for help and also a security system to warn him if he forget to close his door. After finishing these applications we’re going to make features after graduation by adding new technologies to help him moving in the street easier and help him crossing roads and reading books.

1.3                                              PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The purposes are as follows:

1. To detect place with the stick.
2. To detect obstacles with the stick.
3. To ensure safe walking of the blind.
4. To help the blind to reach his destination safely and securely.
5. To create a cheap and comfortable mobility aid for the blind.

1.4                                                   AIM OF THE PROJECT

This objective of this work is to develop an aid for visually impaired persons. This project is capable of detecting any obstacle, detect water and corners and even allow the user to find the stick if anyhow missed by the user by pressing a remote switch.

1.5                                         SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT

The device is designed with an intention to sort out common issues faced by the blind people while using traditional sticks. With the electronics embedded within the stick, it became a smart stick with the functionalities mentioned above.

This system is designed especially for any kind of visual impaired persons: blind, partially sighted, and people with progressive loss of vision. This system will give a lot of benefits to the visually impaired individuals especially for those who have financial problem. According to the researcher Choo, Malaysia has around 60,000 visually impaired individuals and 28,000 of them had registered as a blind and applied to get the help from the welfare provided in Malaysia. This mean that the number of visually impaired individuals that have financial problem had covered more than half in the total number of impaired visually individuals and this is reason why the system provide is cheaper and affordable by most of the impaired visually individuals.

More than that, this system able to provide the distance of the obstacles in front of visually impaired individuals by using sensor of the Kinect. It also able delivers the visually impaired individuals the existing direction to help them headed to the right direction. With the system provided, the visually impaired individual able walk at the corridor safety since the system developed is able to guide them along the corridor by providing the information of the surrounding along the corridor. With the system developed the visually impaired individuals also able to improve their own ability or less dependent to the help of other people while walking along the corridor. The reason why the visually impaired individuals can improve themselves into a more independent individual is because the system able to help them in finding the direction while they are walking at the corridor. Hence, the visually impaired person able to more likes a normal person in their daily lifestyle.

1.6                                                 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

In this present study, an ultrasonic blind walking stick is developed. It is developed as a place detecting device. By using this stick, blind person will be confirmed that, he has reached the place where he wanted to go. It is easy to maintain and very comfortable to use. Power consumption of this stick is low and can be operated easily. Moreover, it is fully automated. This stick also enables to detect obstacles in user’s way by using an IR sensor. So, it is very helpful for the blind to reach his destination safely.

Arduino UNO is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328 (datasheet). It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller. The Arduino module, IR sensor and buzzer all are connected with it.

Electromechanical buzzer is used for creating two different types of buzzing sound. It is an audio signaling device which is identical to an electric bell without the metal gong. It functions by means of an electromagnet. When an electric current is applied, it produces a repetitive buzzing or clanging sound. A relay may be connected to interrupt its own actuating current, causing the contacts to buzz. Often these units were anchored to a wall or ceiling to use it as a sounding board.

For detecting obstacles, IR sensor is used. The IR LED transmits the IR signal on to the object and the signal is reflected back from the surface of the object. The reflected signals are received by an IR receiver (LDR). Both the LED and LDR consume 3.5 volt power.

1.7                                         METHODOLOGY

To achieve the aim and objectives of this work, the following are the steps involved:

1. Study of the previous work on the project so as to improve it efficiency.
2. Draw a block diagram.

• Test for continuity of components and devices,

1. Design and calculation for the device was carried out.
2. Studying of various component used in circuit.
3. Construction of the circuit was carried out.

• Finally, the whole device was cased and final test was carried out.

1.8                                                         PROJECT ORGANISATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work, chapter two presents the literature review of the study, chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.