A Study on Smart Assistive Stick for Visually Impaired Individuals

Vision impairment heavily affects mobility, information access, employment, and independence for millions of people across the globe. Assistive technology for blind and visually impaired persons has grown from conventional white canes to high-tech smart devices with ultrasonic sensors, GPS, GSM modules, and artificial intelligence (AI). The current review compares development in smart assistive devices, such as smart blind sticks, wearable navigation systems, and IoT-based solutions. New technology like AI-based obstacle detection, image processing, and sensor fusion provide higher accuracy and realtime feedback. Despite this, prohibitive costs, short detection ranges, and issues in dynamic environments prevent its broad application. This research highlights major advancements, their drawbacks, and directions for future enhancement of accessibility, safety, and autonomy for the visually impaired. The suggested smart assistive stick prototype combines multi-sensor technology with AI-based capabilities to improve mobility and independence, overcoming current limitations in assistive navigation devices.