A vibration alarm alerts visually impaired users to obstacles in good time. To achieve this, the team used state-of-the-art technology. Camera systems help to detect obstacles that inevitably limit safety when moving around in busy areas. Besides obstacle detection, the technology also supports distance measurement. Two vibration motors provide information about the direction and urgency of the objects. The result impresses their professor: “The idea is one of the best in the course because it has added value for society.”

One team, one mission

The J-Team consists of Kanaya Nisa Ozora, Chitsidzo Varaidzo Nemazuwa, Oscar Edgardo Navarro Banderas, Advitya Chopra, Syed Raza Qamar, Süeda Özkaya, and Sofia Libman. All are studying for a bachelor’s degree in Information Engineering and are between 20 and 23 years old. “The motivation for the project arose from a personal encounter in Heilbronn. A sighted companion had something urgent to do, approached Adi, and simply handed over the responsibility of guiding the blind person to him. The blind person was having difficulty finding their way around the streets due to construction work in the city”, explains Kanaya. Everyone was able to contribute their strengths to the project. In addition to their technical skills, this naturally also included programming the Vision Stick.

On the software side, the group generated the appropriate Python code and connected all signals to a server. The result was a reliable system that will be a great help to Vision Stick users. The prototype has passed its trial run in the test lab and will now be tested in the real world. “To make this device usable for visually impaired people, we consulted with members of the community who use it. At a meeting with the ‘BSVW (Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband Württemberg e.V., Heilbronn)’, we discussed what helps them and how they use their white canes to find their way around,” says Kanaya.

The team shows how it works and that inventive spirit is simply fun in a video: https://youtu.be/4yO5TPfKfZM