GPS-enabled smart stick guide for campus accessibility at King Abdulaziz University

Abstract This study focuses on improving the mobility and self-reliance of blind students to navigate university campuses. The main objective of this study was to design and develop a Smart Guide application, integrating a smart stick and application to help blind students navigate the university and its buildings safely and adequately. This system applies a combination of different components such as an obstacle sensor positioned on the stick to detect any obstacle, a global positioning system (GPS) module for instantaneous location tracking, and light sensors to make students aware of the changes in environmental lighting and to assist connection between the blind students, their guardians, and building security guards, enabling timely assistance in case of walking difficulties or emergencies. The Arduino board technology was employed for hardware integration, implementing ultrasonic and light sensors, and GPS modules, although the application is developed using Arduino IDE and XCode IDE. An iterative waterfall development methodology was utilized to implement this smart stick. The primary results demonstrate that the obstacles have been detected by the system successfully and are aware of users at the time, while the GPS module’s effectiveness assures connectivity with guardians and security. The safety and mobility of blind students have been significantly enhanced by the system’s real-time location tracking and environmental observation. This study exhibits the development of merging sustaining hardware and software solutions to enhance availability for visually impaired students in university and provide an innovative and balanced system for extensive application. Future studies will focus on advancing navigation competence in outdoor environments and managing challenges related to emergency buttons and sensors.