Assistance Stick for Visually Impaired

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e ISSN:2395 0056

Volume: 09 Issue: 06 | June 2022 www.irjet.net p ISSN:2395 0072

Assistance Stick for Visually Impaired

*Student, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, IMS Engineering College, Ghaziabad ** Assistant Professor Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, IMS Engineering College,

***

ABSTRACT

This device is an innovative stick designed for visually disabled people for improved navigation. This project proposes an advancedblindstickthatallowsvisuallychallengedpeopleto navigatewithease.Theblindstickisintegratedwithultrasonic sensor, fire sensor, water sensor and LDR and they are coupled with Arduino Uno R3 for processing proposes, and since the Arduino cannot produce sound output directly, APR9600 IC being used for providing sound output. It also contains a GPS & GSM module for location identification in emergency situations. This device will be a helpful solution to overcome their difficulties.

Keywords - ArduinoUNOR3,AssistanceStick,GPS,GSM,Sensors,VisuallyImpaired

• INTRODUCTION

Blindnessisacommondisabilityamongthepopulationoftheworld.AccordingtotheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO) 285millionpeoplearevisuallyimpairedworldwide,39millionareblindand246havelowvision.About90%oftheworld’s visually impaired live in developing countries. They need assistance to navigate outside and all other daily essential chores So,thepaperdemonstratesasystemthattriestoremovetheproblemofblindnessandmakethemself dependenttodotheir dailychores, it isa walking stick,thatisconvenient to use bythevisuallyimpaired people.Itis easytomaintain,affordable and it is very comfortable to use and provides user with a host of safety features and voice based alerts for individual scenario.Thepowerconsumptionislowandcanbeoperatedeasily;overallthestickhasgreaterfunctionalfeaturesoverthe conventional one. The proposed device is a stick that consists of a circuit board that contains Arduino Uno R3, variety of sensors(Ultrasonic,Fire,LDR,andWater)[1],Speakerforalert,andGPS&GSMmoduleforidentificationoftheuserlocation incaseofemergency.TheentireprojectisdesignedusingArduinoUnobaseduponitsreliability.Arduinoisamicrocontroller which can do all the processing with great accuracy. Ultrasonic sensor is used to detect the object in front of the person by measuringthedistancebetweentheobjectandthestick.Firesensorisusedtodetectanykindofsuddentemperaturechange in the environment and if temperature rises above a predefined level, it alerts the person using the speaker. LDR is placed basically for the night purpose, if the person goes outside at night, it detects the vehicle’s headlight and alerts the person. Watersensorisusedtodetectthewetsurfaces,potholeswhilethepersoniswalking,andgeneratesavoicealertsothatuser cantakeprecaution.GPS&GSMmoduleisusedtosendtheperson'sliveGPScoordinatetothefamilymembers.Itisoperated bytheuserbypressingaSOSbuttoniftheuserisinanykindofhazardoussituation.[3]

• LITERATURE REVIEW

Blind рeорle use а саne fоr they hаve соntасt with the envirоnment, but this саne dоesn't give аll suitаble infоrmаtiоn аbоut the surrоunding оbjeсt; we саn imрlement ultrаsоniс sensоrs аnd infоrm users by аudiо signаls in the саne mаde it effeсtive [1] Fоr visuаlly сhаllenged рeорle dоing their rоutines wоuld be the tоughest thing. Tо mаke it finer, а trаditiоnаl саneisсоnvertedintоаnаssistiveсаnebyрenetrаtingаninfrаredsensоrаndАrduinоUNОtоit[2].Thissysteminсludesаn embedded e SОS (eleсtrоniс Sаve Оur Sоuls) system with аn ultrаsоniс sensоr аnd Аrduinо UNО.It wоrks bаsed оn аndrоid аррliсаtiоn[3].СMРсоmраsssensоr511isusedtоgiveinfоrmаtiоnаbоutthedireсtiоnоfwindflоw.Theоutрutissentаsthe sоund,аndthebuzzerасtivаteswithintherаngeоf3сm 150сmwhentheоbstасleisdeteсtedwithаsрeedоf0.3seс[4].This mоdelсоmbinesthethreesensorsUltrаsоniсsensоr,аFоrсesensоrаndарressuresensоr.Thefоrсesensоrisаttасhedtоthe individuаl shоe, meаsuring the distаnсe between the stiсk аnd shоe. The рressure sensоr helрs tо wаlk the individuаl if the

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e ISSN:2395 0056 Volume: 09 Issue: 06 | June 2022 www.irjet.net p ISSN:2395 0072

individuаl lоst the griр оn the stiсk hаndle. This triо mаkes the stiсk intо аn аssistive оne [5].It is hard to live a life with disabilities.Tomakeblindpeoplesmart,soweareimplementingsomanysensors,whichmakesitasmartstick,whichgives alarm when the user faces any obstacle and gives the audio command through speakers connect ed by Bluetooth [6]. Travellingfromoneplacetoanotherplaceishardforvisuallychallengedpeople.Theywillfacesomanyobstacles,stairsand somanycracksetc.IoTparadigmprovidesamediumbetweenblindandenvironment.Withthehelpofseveralsensors[7].А Survey оf Vоiсe Аided Eleсtrоniс Stiсk fоr Visuаlly Imраired Рeорle. we gоt ideа аbоut lаtest teсhnоlоgy like Grарhiсs Роsitiоning System (GРS) & Grарhiсs System Messаging (GSM). Whiсh will helр fоr trасking the lосаtiоn & used fоr mаking mоdule оf smаrt stiсk fоr visuаllyimраired рeорle аnd itgives us ideа аbоut Vоiсe messаge get frоm Аndrоid Рhоne tо thаt blind рersоn [8] Blind Nаvigаtiоn System Using Imаge Рrосessing аnd Embedded System . We gоt ideа frоm this рарer fоr Nаvigаtiоnsystemhаsbeendevelорedwhiсhhelрtоenhаnсemоbilityоfblindness.Thisрарergivesusideаfоrсарturinglive videооfthаtрersоn&grаbvideоfeedinfrоntоfblindрersоn&thislivevideосаnbeоbservebyаdminitself.[9]SmаrtСаne: Аssistive Саne fоr Visuаlly imраiredРeорle. We gоt ideа frоm this рарer fоr Vоiсe messаge & Vibrаtiоn when рersоn deteсt оbstасle with helр оf smаrt stiсk then blind рersоn get аwаre tо it by understаnding Vibrаtiоn аlert & Vоiсe messаge whiсh соmes frоm smartрhоne. [10]Eleсtrоniс РаthGuidаnсe fоr VisuаllyImраiredРeорleFrоm thisрарer wegоt ideа аbоutthe hоwrаngewhiсhisrequiredfоrdeteсtingоbstасleоrоbjeсtfrоmlосаtiоnоfsmаrtstiсksрeсifiсrаngeistheirweneedtо set threshоld vаlue if оbstасle соmes intо thаt threshоld rаnge then it саn deteсt suссessfully оtherwise саnnоt. [11] Use оf UltrаsоniсSensоrsintheDevelорmentоfаnEleсtrоniсTrаvelАidsoimplementationandlimitationofultrasonicsensor.[12] АutоmаtedMоbility&ОrientаtiоnSystemfоrBlindоrРаrtiаllySightedрeорleFrоmthisрарerwegоtideааbоutGSM,GРSоf sensоr like Integrаted Ultrаsоniс sensоr, Ассelerоmeter sensоr & IR sensоr. Whiсh оne is mоre suitаble & hоw they аre рerfоrm&hоwtheydeteсtоbstасle.[13]Thispaperisaboutprovidingacompatiblesolutionforvisuallyimpairedpeopleand helpthemtowalkindependentlyandconfidently.ThehardwareelementsincludedareRaspberrypimicrocontroller,obstacle detectingsensors,GPSmodule,speakersandotherconnectingcomponents.[14]Thesmartwalkingstickhelpsblindpeopleto perform navigation and to do their work easily and comfortably. In readily available devices the functionalities are not comprehensive. The device uses ultrasonic sensors to measure distance between objects. If any obstacle comes in front of blindperson,he/shecanknowabouttheobstaclebyhearingthesoundgeneratedbytheheadphone.[15]

• METHODOLOGY

Wehavetriedtointegratedahostofdifferentfeaturesasdiscussedbelow.

• ULTRASONIC SENSOR

Anultrasonicsensorusessoundtoperformameasurement.Ifanobject(orinourexampleanultrasonicsensor)produces sound,airmoleculesarepressedagainsteachotherandtheenergymovethroughtheairparticles. Thedistancebetweencrest andtroughofwavecalledfrequencyandisexpressedinHertz(Hz).Thehumaneariscapableofperceivingsoundfrequencies from20Hzand20kHz.Allfrequenciesfrom20kHzupto800MHz(800millionHertz)arecalledultrasonicsoundandarenot perceivable by the human ear. An ultrasonic sensor emits a sound pulse within the ultrasonic range, this sound pulse propagatesatthespeedofsoundthroughairuptothemomentofcollisionwithaobject.Thereflectedsoundisthen received bythesensor.Bymeasuringthetime,ittakesforthesoundtotravelfromsensortoobjectandbacktothesensor,thedistance totheobjectcanbecalculatedveryaccurately.Fig1showstheultrasonicsensor.[5]

Fig

1:

ultrasonicssensor

• FIRE DETECTION SENSOR

A fire detection sensor can detect the light from the fire. It is based on the wavelength mechanism. The fire sensor respondstothewavelengthbysensingit.Receiverofthesensorusesthe(EM)electromagneticradiationprinciple.Itabsorbs theradiationfromthefireandrespondstoit.Firesensoroperationisaccurateandquickcomparedtosmokesensors.Youcan detect Light from fire up to a distance of 60cm. Fire detection sensors usually have negative temperature coefficients which meansthattheresistanceofthesensordecreasesasthetemperatureincreasesandthespeakerisusedforgivingtheoutput.If the sensor detectsthe heat radiation it will send an electrical signal to the Arduino and thus voicealert will be generated. A photodiode is used to detect presence of fire. In the ambient light, it passes only 0.84v through it to the Emitter of the PNP transistor.Whenmorelightstrikesphotodiodeitconductslargeramountofcurrent.AsshowninFig2[8]

•

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e ISSN:2395 0056

Volume: 09 Issue: 06 | June 2022 www.irjet.net p ISSN:2395 0072

Fig2:firesensor

GPS AND GSM MODULE:

TheGPSandGSMbasedlocationtrackingsystemhelpstosendSOSmessagesandtracktheblindperson’slocationincase ofemergency.BypressingtheSOS button,theemergencymessagewill besenttothe friendorfamilymember oftheperson holdingthestickalongwithliveGPScoordinates(latitudeandlongitude).

TheGPSmodulehelpstopinpointtheexactlocationof theblindpersonandtheGSM/GPRSmodulewillbeusedtosend theSMSalongwiththelocationtotheemergencycontactnumber.ArduinoUnoR3isusedtoprocessallthecomponentsand data.Asshowninbelowfigure.

Fig3:GPS&GSMmodules

Itcontainsseveralcomponentslistedbelow:

• NEO 6MGPSModule

• SIM900AGSM/GPRSMODULE

•

WATER SENSOR

Water sensor in this device is used to alert the user regarding the presence of water in the vicinity or potholes. The industrial water level sensors are expensive and require larger power supply to operate, so this project comes with an alternativetothisproblembyusingasolutionthatworksonshortcircuitconcept.Twothinmetalplateswhichareconnected tothecircuitandwhenthemetalplatescomeincontactwithwaterthecircuitgetscompletethuscurrentflowinitiatessothe alertIsgeneratedbythevoicemodulepresentonthedevice.[12]

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e ISSN:2395 0056

Volume: 09 Issue: 06 | June 2022 www.irjet.net p ISSN:2395 0072

LDR SENSOR

LDR Sensor is integrated in this device to solve the problem of identifying approaching car in the night. So LDR (light dependent resistor) basically passes a low voltage current in the dark but when a high intensity beam of light such as headlight of a car shines on it, this causes the device to pass larger voltages, which can trigger an alert. LDR is connected to analog pin of Arduino since Arduino contains ADC (analog to digital converter) so it converts the analog voltage to digital valueswhichfurthergeneratesthesoundalertwiththehelpofAPR9600IC.[8]

• BLOCK DIAGRAM

Fig4:blockdiagramofmaincircuit

From the above displayed block diagram, the basic of the device working can be seen. We have Arduino Uno r3 as the processingcomponentofthisdevicealongwithitcanbeobservedthatwehaveapowersupplycircuitforprovidingregulated powertothecircuit.Thedevicealsohasavoiceplaybackmoduletoprovidevoice basedalertstotheusers.Thedevicehasa hostofsensorssuchasultrasonic,fire,water,LDRsensorsforprovidingalertsbasedondifferentscenario.AsshowninFig4.

Fig5:blockdiagramofGPSandGSMfunctionality

The device also has GPS and GSM functionality to alerts family members in case emergencies. The circuit has a Arduino UnoR3asaprocessingcomponent.AGPSandGSMboards.ApowersupplyforregulatingpowerdeliveryandaSOSbuttonfor sendingalerts.AsshowninFig5

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e ISSN:2395 0056

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EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

Fig6:circuitofAPR9600IC

ThesensorsprovidefeedbacktoArduinobuttheArduinoisincapableofgeneratingsoundoutputdirectly.So,thedevice usesAPR9600IC alongwith 4switchesforindependent sensors whichcorrespondtouniquealertfor eachsensor.So, when Arduino receives feedback from a particular sensor it sends the signal to APR9600 to activate the corresponding switches whichgeneratesthesoundoutputforthatparticularsensor.

Fig7:finaldevice

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e ISSN:2395 0056

Volume: 09 Issue: 06 | June 2022 www.irjet.net p ISSN:2395 0072

RESULT AND CONCLUSION

Every individual in the world has to lead their life comfortably. But, some of them lack their activities due to their disability. They overcome this with the usage of technology. This device proposed an idea that everyone can lead their life independently. This device makes every blind individual do their routines by themselves. They can be able to go to their destinations easily by using this device. The smart stick is lightweight, portable to use, affordable in terms of cost, and an ecofriendlydevice.Thisdeviceisveryeffectiveanduniqueamongalltheimplementationofsmartguidancedevices.Itcovers 180degreesofanindividual,senseseachobstacleandhazardsituation,andprovidesanimmediateresponsetotheindividual. Inadditiontoit,ithassomespecialsensorswhichguideandprotectfromaccidents.Incaseofanyemergencythepersoncan press the SOS button and with the help of GPS and GSM modules the emergency message will get generated and will be forwardedtothefamilymembersoftheperson.

As a result of our efforts in exploring this opportunity to work on something that will make life easy of the visually impaired.Wehavemadeadevicethatiscapableofsuccessfullyguidingavisuallyimpairedpersoninanysurroundingandthe usercanrelyonthefeedbackofthedevicebecauseofthedurablecomponentsusedinthesetup.

Duetotheuseofofftheshelfcomponentstherangeofthisdeviceisnotasmuchthatwasexpectedbutitcanbeimprove withthehelpofadvancedtechnology.Samegoesforthesizeofthisdevice.Overall,thisAssistanceStickforVisuallyimpaired proposed the concept of self dependency and we believe that the advancement in technology in the upcoming years will furtherenhancethepropertiesandrangeofthisdevice.

AsfortheconcernaboutfindingtheSOSbuttonitisprovidedatgripofthestickwherethenaturalpositionshouldbe.

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