The initial Project Readiness Package: Download/View.

There are an estimated 42,000 to 700,000 visually and hearing impaired individuals around the globe. Travel can be difficult and often times life threatening. The most common solutions to this are white canes and guide animals, however both of these have their drawbacks and limitations.

There has been a lot of research into more advanced "Smart Canes" which detect objects and provide feedback to the user. Often times these devices are bulky, heavy and fail to provide clear instructions to the user.

This project will focus on designing a white cane that warns and guides the user around obstacles with precise haptic feedback, which is going to be a continuation from P14043. The cane will also physically resemble a conventional cane and will operate intuitively for a blind-deaf user. This means it will still function by sweeping, tapping and "feeling" around the user, while sending feedback to the user. This system will allow the user to avoid incoming obstacles while still functioning as a normal cane.

At the end of the project schedule, the team will have a working prototype of the cane which will sense objects, interpret the data and send feedback to warn the user of where the object is.

Project Name

Smart Cane Systems Integration

Project Number

P15043

Project Family

P14043

Start Term

2141

End Term

2145

Faculty Guide

Charlie Tabb, ctabb@rochester.rr.com

Primary Customer

Patricia Iglesias, pxints@rit.edu

Primary Customer

Gary Behm, gwbnts@rit.edu

Primary Customer

Tom Oh, tom.oh@rit.edu

Sponsor (financial support)

ABVI

Sunstone Link

Photo Gallery

Planning & Execution

Gate Reviews

Problem Definition

Systems Design

Detailed Design

Build, Test, Document

Publications & Presentations