Electronic Walking Stick for Visually Impaired Individuals
( DARC BLINDUS )
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements
In Robotics and Intelligent Machine
First Quarter
Researcher/Investigator
Daniel D. Legaspi
September 23, 2019
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE
INTRODUCTION
Do Blind People See in Their Dreams? According to ‘’The Charles Bonnet
Syndrome: Phantom Visual images”, a person who is born blind has dreams but doesn’t
see images. Mostly, the vision in dreams is comparable to the range of vision the person
has had throughout life. For example, someone who has colorblindness won’t suddenly
see new colors while dreaming. It is all based on experience gathered overtime. Someone
who is blind yet perceives flashes of light and colors may incorporate these experiences
into dreams.
It is possible that some people who are totally blind perceive light non-visually.
The evidence started with a 1923 research project conducted by Harvard graduate student
Clyde Keeler. Keeler bred mice that had a mutation in which their eyes lacked retinal
photoreceptors. Eight years later, scientists discovered intrinsically photosensitive retinal
ganglion cells (ipRGCs). These ipRGCs are found on the nerves that conduct signals
from the retina to the brain.
Amazing electronic glasses help the legally blind see but they are costly
Americans who are blind or usually impaired increases in number each year by 75,000. A
growing cohort of companies, like sight, offer visual tools that can enhance vision-
making things bigger, brighter and bolder so that they’re able to be visible to people like
foster. According to the National Federation of the blind, roughly 10 million Americans
are blind or visually impaired and about 1.3 million of that number are legally blind,
defined as central vision acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye. But 70% of working-
age blind adults are unemployed. Medicare and health insurance companies determine
whether eyesight technology is going to be reimbursable or covered at all.
The investigators designed this project to keep away people who are visually
impaired from accidents, because sometimes accidents may involve blind people in the
process. This study also helps blind people to reach their destination with ease and
confidence without help of others. This can boost the morale of the blind people by doing
some things that normal people do.
Statement of the Problem
This study determines the ability of the robot to detect physical obstacles in terms
of distance, time and efficiency.
Specific questions that the researcher aims to answer are the following:
1.In what distance does the robot detect an obstacle effectively according to the
following surfaces?
a. Rough surface
b. Flat surface
c. Wet surface
2. How long does the robot effectively detect the physical obstacles in front in varying
surfaces?
a. Rough surface
b. Flat surface
c. Wet surface
Statement of the Hypotheses
1. The robot can effectively detect an obstacle at a maximum range of 20-30 cm.
2. The robot can efficiently detect a physical obstacle within 1-2 seconds.
3. The robot can function smoothly on flat surface.
Significance of the Study
This study aims to lessen the cases of accidents which involves blind people.
Moreover, the results of this study will be beneficial to the following:
Community: The results of the study will help the community to lessen the cases of
accidents involving blind people.
Blind people: The blind peole will be guided to their destination without the help of
others.
Other Researchers: This study can be used as their reference material for the future
researchers.
Scope and Limitation
This study is descriptive in nature , which focuses on the ability of the prototype
to detect objects on a certain distance in varying surfaces and is limited only to detect
physical objects in front at a maximum distance of 20-30 cm and is less efficient in
detecting narrow objects and below surfaces . This prototype, Electronic Walking Stick,
is designed to improve more than a normal walking stick to guide and help the visually
impaired individuals.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
According to Hugh Herr, humans are not disabled. A person can never be
broke. Our engineered setting, our technologies, is broken and disabled.
We the folks needn’t to just accept our limitations, however, will transfer
incapacity through technological innovation. So yes , technology can indeed
neutralize human disability; with this in mind let us use the power of Arduino and simple
sensors to build a Blind man’s stick that could perform more than just a stick for visually
impaired people. This sensible stick can have associate unhearable device to sense
distance from any obstacle, LDR to sense lightning conditions and a RF remote using
which the blind man could remotely located his stick. Arduino sensible Blind Stick
Project needs 2 separate circuits. One is that the main circuit which is able to be
mounted on the blind man’s stick. Arduino Nano is employed to manage all the
sensors. The complete board is powered by a 9V battery which is regulated to t5V
using a 7805 voltage regulator..
Visually impaired individuals are the people that find it troublesome to
acknowledge the tiniest detail with healthy eyes. Those who have the visual acuteness of
6/60 or the horizontal vary of the field of regard with each eyes open have but or
adequate twenty degrees. The main downside with blind individuals is the way to
navigate their way to where they need to travel. Such people need assistance from others
with good eyesight. As described by WHO, 10% of the visually impaired have no
functional eyesight at all to help them move around without assistance and safety. High-
end technological solutions are introduced recently to assist blind persons navigate
severally. Vision is that the most significant a part of human physiology as eighty three of
knowledge individual gets from the atmosphere is via sight. The 2011 statistics by the
World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 70 million people in the
world living with visual impairment, 7 million of which are blind and 63 million with low
vision.(M.S Nowak and J. Smigielski, “The Prevalence and Causes of disability and
vision defect among Older Adults within the town of urban center,Poland.” Medicine,Vol
94,number 5, pp. E505,February 2015 doi.10.1097/MD.000000000000505)
Smart Walking Stick for visually impaired. The planned methodology could be an
easy walking stick equipped with sensors to grant data regarding the atmosphere GPS
technology integrated with pre-programmed locations permits the user to decide on the
optimal route to be taken. Integration of a GSM module for safety purposes. (G. Gayathri,
M. Vislinupriya, R. Nandhini and M. Banupriya “Smart Walking Stick for Visually
Impaired” International Journal of Engineering and engineering science. Vol.3, number
3,pp. 4057-4061,2014.)
Designed and enforced a wise Stick for Obstacle Detection and Navigation. It
used GPS and GSM module. GPS to give positioning and navigating to the stick. GSM
module helps to give notifications when the blind person is faced with threats. The
system is powered by a rechargeable battery. The smart stick facilitates the blind person
to make calls at times of energy via the GSM/GPRS module. (R. Radhika, P.G. Pai, S.
Rakshitha and R. Srinath “Implementation of good Stick for Obstacle Detection and
Navigation.” International Journal of Latest analysis in Engineering and Technology,
vol.2, range five pp.45-50, 2016.)
GPS technology is integrated with pre-programmed locations to determine the
optimal route that the blind should navigate. Also, a voice enabled equipment switching
is provided to help the blind person in private domain. The GSM module and relay are
for the purpose of switching on the equipment. It helps in transferring the information
about the needed operation to be performed on the equipment and generates resultant
switching action. The smart stick not only aids in detecting obstructions placed at a
distance in front of the user, but also provides real time assistance via GPS.(A. Jose, G.
George, M.R. Nair, M.J Shilpa and M.B. Mathar “Voice Enable Smart Walking Stick for
Visually Impaired” International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical, Electronics
and Instrumentation Engineering, vol.5, pp.80-85, 2016.)
Proposed Smart White Cane which is a Sophisticate and Economic Walking Aid.
Their technique alerts users by pre-recorded sound messages and a tactual feedback in
kind of vibrations. The stick will find pits, potholes, downfalls, way (up and down), low
lying and knee level obstacles and even those above the waist. Their proposed stick is
designed to detect obstacles which may help the blind navigate carefree. The system
provides ON/OFF switch, vibration feedback and the audio jack on the handle itself. The
system does not have a global positioning method to find the position of the user using
the GPS and guidance to their destination given to the user by voice navigation. The idea
behind the design of the stick was to keep structurally similar i.e thin, lightweight and
easy to handle, yet gave an active feedback to the user regarding hazards to his walking
path.(R. Sheth, S. Rajandekar, S. Laddha and R. Chaudhari “Smart White cane –An
Elegant and Economic Walking Aid”. American Journal of Engineering Research. Vol.3,
number 19, pp. 84-89, 2014.)
In an intelligent walking stick for the Blind was proposed. The navigation device
for the visually impaired is targeted on providing voice output for obstacle navigation
victimization infrared sensors, RFID technology, and android devices. The device is
connected to an android phone through Bluetooth. An android application is designed
which gives voice navigation based on RFID tag server. The components of the system
are: AT89c51 microcontroller, Bluetooth HC05, MAX232, ADC 0808 and IR sensors,
RFID sensor, Android Phone, Server and Android Application. The system is used each
indoor and out of doors navigation. Blind person’s location can be tracked whenever
needed which will ensure additional safety. (C.S. Kher, Y.A. Dabhade, S.K. Kadam, S.D.
Dhamdhere and A.V. Deshpande” associate Intelligent Walking Stick for the Blind.”
International Journal of Engineering analysis and General Science,vol.3,number 1,
pp,1057-1062,2015.)
Proposed Smart Electronic Stick for Visually Impaired. Their projected system
could be a theoretical model and a system conception to produce a sensible electronic aid
for blind individuals. The system is to provide artificial vision, object detection and
emergency messaging facility. Output is within the kind of beeps that the visually
handicapped person will hear. GPS and GSM are used to acquire the exact location of the
blind person at times of emergency and send the coordinates to his/her relatives. The
sensors employed in the stick projected area unit extremely correct and sensitive. They
provide exact reading of obstacles and distance to be travelled. Their proposed stick was
intended to provide low cost and efficient navigation aid for the blind. ( B. G.
Roopashree, B. S. Patiland B. R. Shruthi. “Smart Electronic Stick for Visually Impaired.”
International Journal of Innovative analysis in Science, Engineering and Technology,
Vol. 4, number 7, pp. 6389-6389, 2015.)
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This section deals with the theory of some of the components used as well as the
design and implementation of an intelligent walking stick for the blind.
RESEARCH DESIGN
The ultrasonic sensor transmitter generates signals and transmits them in a
particular direction which will then be reflected back when they are approaching any
obstacles, then the ultrasonic sensor receiver receives it and sends it to the
microcontroller which will trigger/switch ON the Buzzer
.RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
The Arduino UNO is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. It has 14
digital outputs and inputs pins of which 6 can be used as PMW Outputs, 6 analog inputs,
a 16 MHz quartz crystal, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP reset button.
The figure 1 below is the block diagram of the Arduino UNO which shows the
various components used in the design and implementation of the smart stick.
POWER
BANK
ULTRASONIC
SENSOR RF
RECEIVER
SWITCH ARDUINO
BUZZER
UNO
Fig 1: A Block diagram of Arduino UNO
A. Ultrasonic Sensor
Generating, detecting and processing ultra-sonic signals. Ultrasonic is the
production of sound waves above the frequency of human hearing and can be used in a
variety of applications such as, sonic rulers, proximity detectors, movement detectors,
liquid level measurement.
B. Buzzer
A transducer (converts electrical energy into mechanical energy) that typically
operates. A buzzer is in the lower portion of the audible frequency range of 20Hz to
20KHz. This is accomplished by converting an electric, oscillating signal in the audible
range, into mechanical, in the form of audible waves. Buzzer is used in this research to
warn the blind person against obstacle by generating sound proportional to distance from
obstacle.
C. Power Bank
A power bank is a compact charger intended to revive your electronic devices
when you're moving. Running in size from thin, pocket-evaluated gadgets to bigger,
higher-limit power banks – they can be utilized to charge mobile phones, tablets, GoPros,
versatile speakers, cameras and even workstations. As innovation continues improving,
we are progressively finding that coming up short on battery can be a major issue. Cell
phones presently accompany enormous, vitality sapping screens, mainstream applications
like Pokemon Go, Tinder and Google Maps all spot huge depletes on our batteries.
D. Wires and Cables
A wire is a solitary, normally barrel shaped, adaptable strand or bar of metal.
Wires are utilized to hold up under mechanical burdens or power and media
communications signals. Wire is usually shaped by drawing the metal through a gap in a
pass on or draws plate. Wire checks come in different standard sizes, as communicated as
far as a measure number. The term wire is likewise utilized all the more freely to allude
to a heap of such strands, as in "multistranded wire", which is all the more effectively
named a wire rope in mechanics, or a link in power.
Alternatively referred to as a cord, connector or plug, a cable is one or more wires
covered in a plastic covering that allows for the transmission of power or data between
devices. The picture is an example of what the power cord may look like for your
computer or monitor. The power cord is one example of thousands of other cables found
in and around computers.
RESEARCH PROCEDURE
I. Assembling the components for the device
The investigators assemble the components such as the Arduino Uno, Ultrasonic
sensor, wires, cables, PVC pipe, power bank, wheels and the buzzer for the device.
II. Programming the System
The investigators program their own system from their device. The programming
language that the investigators will use is C language.
III. Assembling all the parts of the device
The investigators assemble all the parts of the device. This procedure includes the
putting the circuit board on the walking stick.
IV. Testing the Device
The investigators test the device. The investigators will run test that can measure
the capability of their device.
Start
Ultrasonic sensor sense obstacle
Microcontroller calculate if the obstacle
NO
is close enough
Close enough?
OBSTACLE
YES PHYSICAL
OBJECTS
BUZZER
SOUND
END
Figure 2: A block Diagram of Arduino Uno Process
CHAPTER 4
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
This chapter presents the data gathered, the results of the analysis done and
interpretation of findings. These are presented in tables following the sequence of the
specific research problem.
FLAT SURFACE
TRIALS DISTANCE (cm) TIME (seconds)
1 25 cm 0.75 s
2 24 cm 0.87 s
3 22.5 cm 1.03 s
TABLE 1. This shows the ability of the prototype, Electronic Walking Stick
in detecting physical obstacles in front on a flat surface.
The table 1 shows the results in detecting physical obstacles in front of the
prototype, Electronic Walking Stick. It also shows the actual distance and time of
detecting physical obstacles using the prototype on flat surface. It shows that the nearer
the larger the time, the nearer the obstacle it is. It shows that there is a little delay in
detecting the obstacle. In trial 1 and 2, the prototype detects the obstacle
ROUGH SURFACE
TRIALS DISTANCE (cm) TIME (seconds)
1 22 cm 1.71 s
2 22.5 cm 1.37 s
3 12 cm 1.75 s
TABLE 2. This shows the ability of the prototype, Electronic Walking Stick
in detecting physical obstacles in front on a rough surface.
FREQUENCIES VARIABLES=VAR00001 VAR00002
/PERCENTILES=100.0
/STATISTICS=STDDEV MEAN MEDIAN MODE
/GROUPED=VAR00001 VAR00002
/ORDER=ANALYSIS.
Frequencies
Notes
Output Created 21-Sep-2019 16:41:41
Comments
Input Active Dataset DataSet0
Filter <none>
Weight <none>
Split File <none>
N of Rows in Working Data File 4
Missing Value Handling Definition of Missing User-defined missing values are treated as
missing.
Cases Used Statistics are based on all cases with valid
data.
Syntax FREQUENCIES VARIABLES=VAR00001
VAR00002
/PERCENTILES=100.0
/STATISTICS=STDDEV MEAN MEDIAN
MODE
/GROUPED=VAR00001 VAR00002
/ORDER=ANALYSIS.
Resources Processor Time 00:00:00.016
Elapsed Time 00:00:00.036
[DataSet0]
Statistics
VAR00001 VAR00002
N Valid 4 4
Missing 0 0
Frequency Table
VAR00001
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 22.5 1 25.0 25.0 25.0
24 1 25.0 25.0 50.0
25 1 25.0 25.0 75.0
Distance 1 25.0 25.0 100.0
Total 4 100.0 100.0
VAR00002
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 0.75 1 25.0 25.0 25.0
0.87 1 25.0 25.0 50.0
1.03 1 25.0 25.0 75.0
Time 1 25.0 25.0 100.0
Total 4 100.0 100.0
FREQUENCIES VARIABLES=VAR00001 VAR00002 VAR00003 VAR00004
/PERCENTILES=100.0
/STATISTICS=STDDEV MEAN MEDIAN MODE
/GROUPED=VAR00001 VAR00002 VAR00003 VAR00004
/ORDER=ANALYSIS.
Frequencies
Notes
Output Created 21-Sep-2019 16:43:17
Comments
Input Active Dataset DataSet0
Filter <none>
Weight <none>
Split File <none>
N of Rows in Working Data File 4
Missing Value Handling Definition of Missing User-defined missing values are treated as
missing.
Cases Used Statistics are based on all cases with valid
data.
Syntax FREQUENCIES VARIABLES=VAR00001
VAR00002 VAR00003 VAR00004
/PERCENTILES=100.0
/STATISTICS=STDDEV MEAN MEDIAN
MODE
/GROUPED=VAR00001 VAR00002
VAR00003 VAR00004
/ORDER=ANALYSIS.
Resources Processor Time 00:00:00.015
Elapsed Time 00:00:00.005
[DataSet0]
Statistics
VAR00001 VAR00002 VAR00003 VAR00004
N Valid 4 4 4 4
Missing 0 0 0 0
Frequency Table
VAR00001
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 22.5 1 25.0 25.0 25.0
24 1 25.0 25.0 50.0
25 1 25.0 25.0 75.0
Distance 1 25.0 25.0 100.0
Total 4 100.0 100.0
VAR00002
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 0.75 1 25.0 25.0 25.0
0.87 1 25.0 25.0 50.0
1.03 1 25.0 25.0 75.0
Time 1 25.0 25.0 100.0
Total 4 100.0 100.0
VAR00003
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 12 1 25.0 25.0 25.0
22 1 25.0 25.0 50.0
22.5 1 25.0 25.0 75.0
Distance 1 25.0 25.0 100.0
Total 4 100.0 100.0
VAR00004
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 1.37 1 25.0 25.0 25.0
1.71 1 25.0 25.0 50.0
1.75 1 25.0 25.0 75.0
Time 1 25.0 25.0 100.0
Total 4 100.0 100.0
