Smart cane for the visually impaired and for people with low vision

Abstract

This work introduces an affordable smart cane system to aid the visually impaired so that they can navigate their surroundings independently. In Bangladesh, around 1.5% of the current adult population is visually impaired or has low vision. However, despite making up such a significant percentage of the population, they often face challenges while navigating their surroundings due to a lack of sufficient resources and accommodation. Studies have found that this often leads to frustration, reduced autonomy, and physical safety risks among the people in the community. Thus, there is a dire need for better assistive technology. Currently, the most used assistive device for this community is the white cane and research also shows that users prefer it over other devices. Hence, this project incorporates the white cane with some basic electronic components to further enhance its usability so that it suits the users’ requirements. The proposed device includes various subsystems including object detection system, water detection system, emergency response subsystem, etc.