mohdazhar

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(DIY) C64iSTANBUL

TURKEY
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mohdazhar

INDIA
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Components

	Arduino Pro Mini 328 - 5V/16MHz	x 5
	HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Ranging Sensor Module	x 5
	Motor module of vibration motor	x 5
	Buzzer 3.3v passive (>80dB)	x 5
	604-WP56BID LEDs PTH Red Blinking LED 625nm, 40 mcd Kingbright	x 5
	DPDT slide switch MSK-05.G2.0	x 5

Tools, APP Software Used etc.

arduino IDE

Arduino

Description

Third eye for the blind

The first wearable technology for people who are blind
Using ultrasonic waves to detect the obstacles
Notifying the user through vibrations/buzzer sound

'Third eye for the blind' is an innovation that helps blind people to navigate with speed and confidence by detecting the nearby obstacles using the help of ultrasonic waves and notifying them with buzzer sound or vibration. They only need to wear this device as a band or cloth.

According to WHO 39 million people are estimated as blind worldwide. They are suffering a lot of hardship in their daily life. The affected ones have been using the traditional white cane for many years which although being effective, still has a lot of disadvantages. Another way is, having a pet animal such as a dog, but it is really expensive. So the aim of the project is to develop a cheap and more efficient way to help the visually impaired navigate with greater comfort, speed and confidence.

Video

Watch the video of its working

Watch the video that came in a news channel (Malayalam language)

The novelty of the project: This is the first wearable technology for blind people which resolves all the problems of existing technologies. Nowadays there are so many instruments and smart devices for visually impaired people for navigation but most of them have certain problems for carrying and the major drawback is those need a lot of training to use. One of the main peculiarities of this innovation is, it is affordable for everyone, the total cost is less than $25 (~1500INR). There are no such devices available in the market that can be worn like cloth and have such a low cost and simplicity. When used on a large scale, with improvements in the prototype, it will drastically benefit the community.

Existing Systems

White cane
Pet dog
Smart devices (eg: Vision a torch for blinds)

The problem of the Existing Systems:

White cane - May easily crack/break, The stick may get stuck at pavement cracks of different objects.
Pet dog - Huge cost. (~$42,000 / 280000Rs )
Common Disadvantages (Including the smart devices) Cannot be carried easily, needs a lot of training to use

The features of Third eye for the blind: By wearing this device they can fully avoid the use of a white cane and such other devices. This device will help the blind to navigate without holding a stick which is a bit annoying for them. They can simply wear it as a band or cloth and it can function very accurately and they only need a very little training to use it.

Full Description of the Project

I have designed a special wearable device based on the Arduino board which can be worn like a cloth for blinds. This device is equipped with five ultrasonic sensors, consisting of five modules that are connected to the different parts of the body. Among them, two for both shoulders, another two for both knees and one for the hand. Using the five ultrasonic sensors, blind people can detect the objects in a five-dimensional view around them and can easily travel anywhere. When the ultrasonic sensor detects obstacles the device will notify the user through vibrations and sound beeps. The intensity of vibration and rate of beeping increases with a decrease in distance and this is a fully automated device.

Feature improvements:

The entire project can be made in the form of a jacket so that the device doesn't need to be worn one by one. The use of specially designed boards instead of Arduino and high-quality ultrasonic sensors make faster response which makes the device capable of working in crowded

Tested Successfully With the Help of a Visually Impaired Person.

Read more about this here in the FB post by our school science teacher.

Prototyping of the Idea - Parts Used

Materials

5 x Arduino pro mini
5 x Ultrasonic sensor
5 x Pref board
5 x Vibrating motor
5 x Buzzers
5 x Red LEDs
5 x Switches
Male and female header pins
4 x Jumper cable
One power bank
One 3.3 volts old mobile battery
Some elastics and stickers(to make it as a band for wearing)

Circuit Diagram and Wiring

Wiring instruction.

The ground of LED, buzzer and vibration motor to GND of Arduino

+ve of LED and middle leg of switch to Arduino pin 5

+ve of Buzzer to the first leg of the switch

+ve of Vibration motor to the third leg of the switch

Ultrasonic sensor

Ultrasonic sensor pin VCC - Arduino pin VCC

Ultrasonic sensor pin GND - Arduino pin GND

Ultrasonic sensor pin Trig - Arduino pin 12

Ultrasonic sensor pin Echo - Arduino PIN 10

The switch used here is for selecting the mode. ( buzzer or vibration mode.)

Figure 2 - Powering the modules - Connect the 4 Arduino pro mini to a USB male pin and connect to a power bank. For the module in the hand use a small lithium battery.

Making the Modules

First, cut the perf board in 5 X 3 cm dimension and solder the female headers for the Arduino to the board.
Then solder the buzzer.
Then connect the vibrating motor using the glue gun and solder wires to it.
Then connect the LED.
Then connect the switch.
Then connect header pins for ultrasonic sensors and for battery input.
Then solder everything as shown in the circuit diagram.
Now connect the Arduino and ultrasonic sensor to the board

Also, connect the elastic band to all the modules.

3 more modules are to be made in the same way as described above, but for the one in the hand, there is a little difference. visit the next step before making that last module.

Code + Making the Module for the Hand

Connect the ultrasonic sensor to the board by using 4 jumper cables.
Then connect a 3.7-volt mobile battery to this module.
Then connect the elastic band as shown in the figure.

At last upload the code to each Arduino board and power the 4 other modules using a power bank.

Optional upgrade

I have upgraded the hand modules as shown here and also connected the shoulder modules to a jacket for more comfortable wear.

Code

code.ino

C/C++

//VISIT : www.robotechmaker.com
  const int pingTrigPin = 12; 
  const int pingEchoPin = 10;   
  int buz=5;
  void setup() {   
  Serial.begin(9600);   
  pinMode(buz, OUTPUT);   
  }   
  void loop()   
  {   
  long duration, cm;   
  pinMode(pingTrigPin, OUTPUT);   
  digitalWrite(pingTrigPin, LOW);   
  delayMicroseconds(2);   
  digitalWrite(pingTrigPin, HIGH);   
  delayMicroseconds(5);   
  digitalWrite(pingTrigPin, LOW);   
  pinMode(pingEchoPin, INPUT);   
  duration = pulseIn(pingEchoPin, HIGH);   
  cm = microsecondsToCentimeters(duration);   
  if(cm<=50 && cm>0)   
  {   
  int d= map(cm, 1, 100, 20, 2000);   
  digitalWrite(buz, HIGH);   
  delay(100);   
  digitalWrite(buz, LOW);   
  delay(d);  
  }   
  Serial.print(cm);    
  Serial.print("cm");   
  Serial.println();   
  delay(100);   
  }   
  long microsecondsToCentimeters(long microseconds)   
  {   
  return microseconds / 29 / 2;   
  }

Schematic and Layout

circuit.ino

Circuit diagram.jpg