Haptic based walking stick for visually impaired people

This paper proposes a new product concept of an electronic travelling aid with haptic perception for the visually impaired people. The device is much similar to the conventional white cane in appearance and it is fabricated using ultrasonic sensors, a vibrator motor scheme, a controller and a power unit inside the walking stick. The sensor system comprises of three ultrasonic sensors to acquire obstacle distance measurements and the user can interpret the distance information as a tactile sensation. The sonar sensors are fired with a sequential firing mechanism to avoid crosstalk. Distance is felt by the user in terms of the vibration intensity change. This device was tested with blind school students and results are presented.