Design of Smart Shoes for Blind People

Abstract

Our daily lives depend heavily on our eyes. Eyesight is our most valuable gift, enabling us to see the world around us. However, some people suffer from visual impairments that hinder their ability to visualize such things. As a result, such people will experience difficulties moving comfortably in public places. One crucial aspect of mobile accessibility is detecting elevation changes. These include changes in the height of the ground or a floor, such as stairs, curbing, and potholes. They are common in both indoor and outdoor environments. People who are blind or visually impaired must detect these changes and assess their distance and extent to navigate them safely and effectively. Depth perception is essential to doing so and can be challenging for those with visual impairments. Therefore, this research aims to design a smart shoe that assists in climbing up and down the stairs using an IMU sensor to detect the user's movement. Before constructing a controller, the system is modelled using mathematical and physical modelling. Mathematical modelling is derived based on the mobility of people with visual impairment. The smart shoes are modelled in a 3D virtual world using the SolidWorks software. In addition, the shoe integrates with ultrasonic sensors whenever it detects any obstacles or barriers; they alert the users via vibration. This resulted in the intelligent shoes unlocking the heels whenever the low or high elevation was detected and vibrating if there was an obstacle. With the help of this device, the confidence level of people with visual impairment to walk independently will be improved.