The University of Hartford

College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture

Proximity Cane for the Visually Impaired

By

Fernando Huapaya-Rios (B.S.M.E)

James Ruzbasan (B.M.E)
Xavier Flowers (B.S.E.E)
Bobby Christiansen (B.S.C.C)

Presented by the students of the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture

At the University of Hartford
As partial requirement for the completion of ES 242 - Engineering by Design

May 2017
 Proximity Cane for the Visually Impaired

Fernando Huapaya-Rios (B.S.M.E)

James Ruzbasan(B.M.E)
Xavier Flowers (B.S.E.E)
Bobby Christiansen (B.S.C.C)

The University of Hartford, 2017

INSTRUCTOR: Brown, Todd

Abstract:
The objective of this project was to create something that would improve education and/or
improve the work life among the visually impaired. The group focused on creating a device that
would improve self navigation for those who are visually impaired. This was done by going
through the design process. During stage one of the design process, the group had to figure out
what the basis of the project was going to be and turn it into objectives. During stage two of the
design process, the group created concepts, picked the best one, tested it, made prototypes, and
then presented the final product to The University of Hartford.

The group ultimately decided to make a proximity cane with the ability to detect nearby
obstacles and alert the user of possible danger by vibrating the handle. As the cane gets closer to
the object, the vibration intensifies. This device uses an arduino board, an ultrasonic distance
sensor, and vibration motors to make this happen.
Table of Contents

● Introduction​……………………………………………………………………………....1

● Design Challenge​……...………………………………………………………………….2

● Design Process​……………………………………………………………………………2

● Design Problem Analysis Stage​………………………………………………………….2

● Constraints​……………………………………………………………………………….2

● User Needs​………………………………………………………………………………..2

● Objectives​………………………………………………………………………………...2

● System Level Design Stage​……………....……….……………………………………...4

● Parameter Design Level​………………………………………………………………....6

● Tolerance Design Stage​………………………………………………………………......6

● Design Evaluation Stage​………………………………………………………………....6

● Testing​…………………………………………………………………………………….2

● Review, Assess, Iterate:​.....................................................................................................2

● Conclusion ​……………………………………………………………………………….7

● Future Work​……………………………………..……………………………………….8
 Introduction:
The problem that the group was trying to solve was “How to improve educational and
employment opportunities for people with visual impairment?”. The group decided to solve this
problem by focusing on a single aspect which led to the creation of the following problem
statement “how to improve the mobility, and navigation of the visually impaired?”. With this
problem, the group brainstormed ideas of anything that could solve this problem and are within
the group’s ability to create within the allotted time frame. It was decided that the group would
create an electronic proximity cane, which is simply a standard white blind assistance cane
outfitted with added materials to increase the user's field of view. In this report the work and
processes that the group collectively went through will be recorded.

Design Challenge:
The group was given the overall challenge to find a way to help people with visual impairments.
To start out, the team had to separate the problem into problems that focused on one aspect, like
helping them succeed in school, helping them navigate in an environment, ect. The team was
composed of members with a like minded set of goals and designs in order to achieve the given
design challenge. The chosen goal of this project was to assist the visually impaired with their
ability to navigate their environment with greater efficiency.

Design Process:
The team had to be aware of what the driving force was in order to create the designs that were
being made, and identify the constraints that were given, as well as the ones that were created for
the team. The team created a few general ones that would work for the multiple ideas that were
being created. We then had to find out what our customers ( visually impaired people) would
want from a new device that would help them better understand their surroundings. We created a
survey that asked the person taking it how they normally move in familiar and unfamiliar
environments, we also asked what they wanted to see be done to help them. We used the
responses to help drive our thoughts and designs. Taking everything into consideration we
decided on a design that fits all the constraints and continued our planning and analysis with this
idea. With a single design we drew out multiple different versions of it and considered what
materials we would need to create it. We then ordered the parts that we decided to use and once
we received them, got to work on putting it together. Once everything was connected we had to
test our design and see if it worked and how to improve on it.

Detail Design Process

Design Problem Analysis Stage:

This stage of the design process includes identifying driving forces, identifying user constraints,
identifying user needs, defining quantitative objectives, designing problem analysis statements,
and planning the design process. When identifying driving forces, the group needs to recognize
who is in need or wants this project to run. These forces include clients, a changing market and
user needs, technological advancement, or a combination of these. After this, user constraints
must be identified. These constraints come from the driving forces, regulatory requirements,
convention or code, and/or product environment. These constraints must be put into measurable,
quantitative terms. After this, surveys are then given to the user population to figure out user
needs. This is a list of desired features given by the target population. After this, we take what
we got from our user needs and turn them into quantitative objectives. We do this by turning
these needs into engineers terms. This includes things like battery life and durability. After this,
we use what we got and turn it into a design problem statement. This statement includes the
purpose, objectives, and constraints. From here, we then have to plan out each step of the project
from start to finish.

Constraints:
While starting this project we had to create some constraints that would keep the ideals we came
up with simple. These constraints came from the problem, the professor, and from us. For this
project we only had a 100 dollar budget to order the supplies we needed, and the design we came
up with had to be something that we could create and present. As a group we created our own
constraints that we tried to follow through with. We wanted our design to be collapsible so it
could be easily carried with you, we also wanted to limit the amount of power we used and use a
rechargeable battery. Our constraints are below in Table 1.
Table 1: Constraints Table

Constraints Design Factor Target Acceptable Limits

Collapsable Walking stick must be Length<150 cm Length<120

able to collapse and be

easily transported

Requires rechargeable Total power used from 3,600 Milliamp Hour 3,000 Milliamp Hour

Battery sensors and vibrating handle Battery Battery

User Needs:
We wanted to know what our users wanted a device that would improve their navigation. After
compiling the data we got from our survey and the guest speakers we were able to understand
what they wanted. We asked them about how they move around at new and old places and how
they cross the street. We also checked their knowledge of other devices for visually impaired
people and if they had access to these kinds of technology.

Objectives:
The team attempted to create a relatively cheap upgrade to the normal blind assistance cane to
increase its effective range. We had hoped to add multiple sensors and have them relay data to
the handle to tell the user when an object is close. We wanted it to be coded and give it an
ergonomic grip so that the sensors position would always be known by the user.

System Level Design Stage:

In this stage of the design, the team came up with a bunch of concepts for the design. Each
member of the group is to make a design and then present it back to the group. From here, the
team then had to compare each concept and then figure out which one meets the project
objectives and constraints. A pugh matrix was then created with each design that each member
came up with. The Pugh Matrix is a table that compares each design and rates them. First round
of the matrix usually will let you know the baseline for each design for the next round unless
only one round is needed. The next round should be full of new concepts with the winner of
round one being the baseline. In this case, the team only needed one round as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Pugh Matrix

Proximity

cane GPS cane

Weight 0,1,0 -1,0,-1

Portability 1,0,0 1,0,0

ease of use 1,1,1 0,0,-1

durability -1,0,1 -1,0,1

expense 0,0,0 -1,-1,-1

power

consumption 0,-1,0 -1,-1,-1

Ability to

modify -1,0,1 -1,0,1

Total Score 4 -8

The team started with two ideas for the product, the Proximity cane and the GPS cane. The
proximity cane would inform the user about objects within its immediate vicinity while the GPS
cane would give the user various information about areas that they were in such as weather,
traffic flow etc. Using the pugh matrix method, the team decided that the proximity cane would
be more practical to construct given the budget and ratings.
 Parameter Design Level:
In this stage, the design had to be optimized, and the team had to document each decision that
was made. The goal is to have the design fully functional in the presenting environment, and as
such, performance validation was needed. From here, the team then made a list of all the parts
that were needed to make it work. Every decision made needed to be documented with a reason
behind each decision made.

Tolerance Design Stage:

In this stage the team had to set tolerances for the design concept. In this case, the team had to
make sure that whatever was holding the sensors and the arduino board had to be close to their
size. The team also had to make sure the wire was long enough and had enough slack so that the
cane could still collapse. The sensor also had to be calibrated in the arduino code so that the
sensor could detect something 1 foot in front of it.

Design Evaluation Stage:

In this stage, the team had to make the initial prototype, test and evaluate it, and record results. In
this stage, the prototype was tested in order to see if it works as intended. After these tests,
improvements can be made and tested further.

Testing:
Testing the prototype was essentially determining whether the sensor would detect anything in
front of it, and make the vibrating motors vibrate. It was also important to make sure the cane
wasn’t too heavy and still had the ability to collapse into a smaller state.

Review, Assess, Evaluate, Iterate:

The concept was tested to see if the sensor worked correctly, if the cane was light enough, and to
see if it was still collapsable. In these tests, it was found that the sensor did detect objects in front
of it and made the vibrating motors vibrate the handle, but it wouldn't stop vibrating unless the
battery was taken out. This was either a problem with the coding or the way the arduino board
was soldered. The cane was still light enough for general use and was still somewhat collapsable.
The cane wasn’t working as it was intended to but it did detect objects in front of it. Either the
board needed to be soldered better or the code needed to be fixed.

Conclusion:
The Design challenge was to help improve the daily lives of the visually impaired. The team
chose to aid the visually impaired in their mobility outside of their homes, and decided to design
and build a proximity cane that would sense nearby objects and relay the information back to the
user with the use of vibrating motors to alert them that an object was in front of them. In the end,
the proximity cane did not perform exactly like it was initially designed to. While the cane could
detect objects in front of it, it would not stop vibrating when the object was removed from the
cane’s field of view. While the proximity cane is in a relatively crude state and has ample
opportunities for future improvement, the team was satisfied with the results of the design
challenge of assisting the visually impaired in their mobility outside of their homes.

Future work:
There are a number of improvements that can be made to the design of the proximity cane. We
had difficulty with the code for the ultrasonic sensors, specifically with the distance that the
sensors will detect an object. With a few days of reviewing the code, this problem should not be
difficult to solve. The cane itself is still in a crude state, and will need to be refined in order to
house the sensor(s),arduino board, wires, and vibrating motors in a safe and ergonomic manner.
This is important because any finished product that is sold to the public must be safe to use as
well as comfortable to handle. This would take considerable time and effort from both the
engineers and a design artist, which is one of the main reasons we left the cane in a crude manner
to begin with. Additionally, the proximity cane would benefit from having additional sensors
facing in three directions. Ideally, the cane would have three ultrasonic sensors facing forward,
slightly to the left, and slightly to the right. The three sensors would then be wired to one of three
vibrating motors in designated spots on the handle of the cane, allowing the user to identify
whether an object is directly in front of them or slightly to the left or right. The board we used
did not have enough space to use more than one vibrating motor which resulted in us being
unable to fulfill this idea. We feel that this will improve the cane’s ability to detect objects from
different angles, thus making the cane better at its job. With the correct board, this would be a
relatively simple fix and would require very little money and only a few days of work to
accomplish. Lastly, we would like our cane to be lighter for the user to handle. We suspect that a
change from PVC pipe to a lighter composite would make the cane lighter and more durable.
While a composite material would make the cane cost more money to manufacture, the cost
would be well worth it when looking at the improved weight and durability of the cane.