NaviCane

There are over 43 million blind people globally who face challenges in navigating the outside world safely due to not being able to afford guide dogs or smart canes. For this project, it is expected that a smart cane that is equipped with ultrasonic sensors, LEDs, vibration motors, and buzzers could detect obstacles to allow for safe independent travel. The smart cane also utilizes an Arduino Elegoo Uno R3 microcontroller board and a 9V alkaline battery that is programmed to detect objects up to over a meter away, triggering warnings based on the proximity of the object. Preliminary testing indicates that the cane effectively detects objects up to 1.092 m, activating the LED, buzzer, and vibration motor at varying frequencies based on the distance. Data analysis suggests that the smart cane provides timely alerts that allow the consumer to react in time. These findings support the hypothesis that a sensor-based smart cane can increase mobility and independence for visually impaired individuals. Future work will consist of optimizing power consumption and improving detection accuracy.