VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

BELAGAVI, KARNATAKA, INDIA-590018.

A project Report on

“MULTIFUCTIONAL BLIND STICK”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of degree of 8th semester
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
in
ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
Submitted by

1. NAVEEN.L.N [1SG20EC072] 2.NIKILESH [1SG20EC073]

3. PAVAN.G[1SG20EC073] 4.SUPRITH[1SG20EC104]

Under the guidance of

Prof.MANASA.M.G
Assistant Professor

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING
SAPTHAGIRI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
(Affiliated to VTU, Belagavi, and Recognized by AICTE, New Delhi)
(Accrediated by NAAC with “A” Grade), (Accredited by NBA)
(ISO 9001-2015 and 14001-2015 Certified Institute)
14/5, Chikkasandra, Bengaluru-560057, Karnataka, India.
2022-2023
 Sri Srinivasa Educational and Charitable Trust®
SAPTHAGIRI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
(Affiliated to VTU, Belagavi, and Recognized by AICTE, New Delhi)
(Accrediated by NAAC with “A” Grade), (Accredited by NBA)
(ISO 9001-2015 and 14001-2015 Certified Institute)
14/5, Chikkasandra, Hesaraghatta, Main Road, Bengaluru-560057, Karnataka, India.

CERTIFICATE
##########################

Certified that the project work entitled “MULTIFUNCTIONAL BLIND STICK “carried out by,
1. NAVEEN.L.N [1SG20EC072] 2.NIKILESH [1SG20EC073]
3. PAVAN.G[1SG20EC073] 4.SUPRITH[1SG20EC104]

Are bonafide students of Sapthagiri College of Engineering Bengaluru, in partial fulfillment for the
award of degree of 8th semester Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics & Communication
Engineering of Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi during the year 2022-2023. It is
certified that all corrections/suggestions indicated have been incorporated in the report and the
project report has been approved as it satisfies the academic requirements in respect of project work
prescribed for the said degree.

_______________________ ____________________
Name & signature Dr. H C Sateesh Kumar
of the Guide Head of the Department

_________________________
Dr. H Ramakrishna
Principal
External Viva
Name of the examiners: Signature with date:
1.

2.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Satisfaction and Euphoria that accompany the completion of any task would be incomplete
without the mention of the people who made it possible because “Success is the abstract of hard work
and perseverance, but steadfast of all is encouragement guidance”. So we acknowledge all those
whose guidance and encouragement served as a beacon light and crowned our effort with success.
We would consider it is a privilege to express our gratitude and respect to all those who guided
us in completion of project work.
We would be grateful to MANAGEMENT of SCE for providing us an opportunity to complete
our 8th semester academics in this esteemed college.
We are grateful to thank our Principal Dr. H RAMAKRISHNA, Sapthagiri College of
Engineering, who patronized throughout our career & for the facilities provided to carry out this work
successfully.
It’s our great privilege to place on record deep sense of gratitude to our HOD Dr. H.C. SATEESH
KUMAR of Electronics and Communication Engineering, who patronized throughout our career & for
the facilities provided to carry out this work successfully.
We are also grateful to thank Professor Dr. NAGARAJA A M Dept. of ECE and J R GIRISH
Assistant Professor Dept. of ECE project coordinators for their motivation and invaluable support.
We are also grateful to thank Prof. Agalya P Assistant Professor, Dept. of ECE project guide for
her invaluable support and guidance.
We would also like to thank the teaching and non-teaching staff members who have helped us
directly or indirectly during this project.
Finally, we also thank our family for their co-operation and motivation to complete this project
successfully.
Finally we thank Almighty

1. NAVEEN.L.N [1SG20EC072] 2.NIKILESH [1SG20EC073]

3. PAVAN.G[1SG20EC073] 4.SUPRITH[1SG20EC104]
 ABSTRACT

Evolution of technology has always been endeavored with making daily life simple. With a

fast paced life everybody is harnessing the benefits of technology except some parts of the society.

One of them is the visually impaired who have to rely on others for travelling and other activities.

This project aims at providing one such theoretical model which incorporates the latest technologies

to provide efficient and smart electronic aid to the blind. We have used ultrasonic sensors along with

ultrasonic range finder circuit for hurdle detection, will provide beep sound assistance. The basic

objective of the system is to provide a convenient and easy navigation aid for unsighted which helps

in artificial vision by providing information about the environmental scenario of static and dynamic

objects around them.Uing this blind stick , a person can walk more confidently. this stick detects the

object in front of the person and give response to the user either by vibrating or through command.

so, the person can walk without any fear. this device will be best solution to overcome their

difficulties

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Vision is one of the most important senses of as most of the information humans gets from the
environment is via sight. WHO reported that in august 2022, about 285 million people suffer from lack
of vision. It is estimated worldwide 39 million are blind and 246 million have less vision. Around 90% of
the visually impaired live in low income conditions. 82% of people living with blindness are around 50
and above. Globally, uncorrected refractive errors are the main cause of moderate and severe visual
impairment,cataract is the leading cause of blindness in middle- and low-income countries. The number
of people visually impaired from infectious diseases has reduced in the last 20 years according to global
estimates work. 80% of the visual impairments can be prevented or cured. The basic problem which every
blind person faces is with regard to commutation and navigation in daily life. The most basic tools for
them are walking cane and guide dogs and also on kindness of fellow commuters. The most commonly
used tool is still the blind stick .It suffers from drawbacks like lack of practice, range of motion, less
reliability in terms of dynamic hurdles and also range detection. We will try to modify this cane with
electronic components and sensors. The ever growing technology and with recent developments can help
in accurate navigation. We have used ultrasonic and ultrasonic sensors which help in obstacle detection
and on hurdle recognition will ring the speaker .We wish at presenting an inexpensive and light weight
and accurate model which helps in effortless navigation for the blind.

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1.1 OBJECTIVES FOR THE PROJECT WORK

In this project, the main objective is to develop a cheaper in price but will still maintain with a good
functional system for the visually impaired individuals. This system able to help visually impaired
individuals to avoid the obstacles such as people and animal on the corridor same with them and it also can
provides the distance of the obstacles in front of them. The aim of this project is to improve the visually
impaired individual’s ability in finding the direction at the corridor while they are walking rather than just
rely on the walking stick to detect all the obstacles manually and waste their time in finding the exactly
direction that they want to heading to.

1.2 MOTIVATION AND PROBLEM STATEMENT

Visually impaired individuals will face many difficulties and one of the common difficulties is when they
involve in self-navigating at an environment which is not familiar to them. In fact, physical movement is
one of the biggest challenges for them. Besides that, while they travel around or walking at a crowded
corridor, it may pose great difficulty. One of the existing problems for visually impaired individuals to travel
in an open environment which is not familiar to them.

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1.3 PROJECT SCOPE

The scope of this project is to develop a system which can help visually impaired individuals to navigate in
the corridor and calculate the distance of obstacles. This system used the sensor to detect the obstacles. An
ultrasonic sensor, such as the HC-SR04, is commonly used to detect obstacles in the path of the user. It emits
ultrasonic waves and measures the time it takes for the waves to bounce back after hitting an object. This
data is used to calculate the distance of the object from the blind stick.

1.4 IMPACT, SIGNIFICANCE AND CONTRIBUTION

This system is designed especially for any kind of visual impaired persons: blind, partially sighted, and
people with progressive loss of vision. This system will give a lot of benefits to the visually impaired
individuals especially for those who have financial problem. According to the researcher Choo, Malaysia
has around 60,000 visually impaired individuals and 28,000 of them had registered as a blind and applied to
get the help from the welfare provided in Malaysia. This mean that the number of visually impaired
individuals that have financial problem had covered more than half in the total number of impaired visually
individuals and this is reason why the system provided is cheaper and affordable by most of the impaired
visually individuals.

More than that, this system able to provide the distance of the obstacles in front of visually impaired
individuals by using sensor HC-SR04. It also able delivers the visually impaired individuals the existing
direction to help them headed to the right direction. With the system provided, the visually impaired
individual able walk at the corridor safety since the system developed is able to guide them along the corridor
by providing the information of the surrounding along the corridor. With the system developed the visually
impaired individuals also able to improve their own ability or less dependent to the help of other people
while walking along the corridor. The reason why the visually impaired individuals can improve themselves
into a more independent individual is because the system able to help them in finding the direction while
they are walking at the corridor. Hence, the visually impaired person able to more likes a normal person in
their daily lifestyle.

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1.5 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Nowadays, the tools to assist the visually impaired individuals are become very important because these
tools are used to assist them to navigate the surrounding in the corridor. According to Casey Helmick , those
people who are visually impaired individuals often will rely on different tools to help them in travelling
around. Dog guide and walking stick are the most common tools to assist visually impaired individuals in
daily life. However, not all of them afford to purchase a guide dog, since the guide dog is at a quite expensive
and will require consuming their time in training with the guide dog and getting the license and only able
travelling around with the guide dog. The training cost and the license cost will also become a big concern
for them and we all know that dogs are not allowed to enter public places such as hotel, apartment and
hospital and this restrict them to walk smoother at indoor environment with just an assist from the walking
stick. Besides that, some of the visually impaired individuals can’t be around dogs.

Furthermore, the visually impaired individuals only can use the walking sticks to estimate and determine
the obstacle on the floor along the corridor and the obstacle must be close with their current location since
the length of their walking stick is limited. A walking stick may be harder to carry, since it’s longer than the
actual walking stick and because the blind people use walking stick while walking, so they only have one
hand free. Hence, this cause the visually impaired individuals become inconvenience especially when their
hands need carry a lot of items and since one of their hand need carry walking stick, so they may not able to
carry all of the items. Besides that, the existing walking stick for visually impaired individuals has the range
detection problem. The walking stick cannot detect the distance that much more far away from the individual
or the moving objects that moving around the corridor. Unlike a normal person they cannot sense the
stationary objects and moving objects since they cannot see this causes a much greater risk while navigating
through outdoor/indoor environment. The existing walking stick also cannot assist and help the visually
impaired individuals to detect the possible way whether to turn either left or right when they reached to the
end of the corridor. To improve the limitation that do exist on the current visually impaired individuals
walking stick, the corridor indoor navigation system has been proposed.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY

Due to the inconvenience of walking stick in the corridor, there are many researchers that have been
researching to discover a new way to solve the problem. In this chapter, there are some systems that are
reviewed. Some of them are taken from journal or internet.

LITERATURE SURVEY

❖ Md. S. Arefi , et .al (2013) [1] There are several ways to measure distance without contact. One
way is to use ultrasonic waves at 40 kHz for distance measurement. Ultrasonic transducers
measure the amount of time taken for a pulse of sound to travel to a particular surface and return
as the reflected echo. This circuit calculates the distance based on the speed of sound at 25°C
ambient temperature and shows it on LCD display. Using it, we can measure distance up to 2.5
meters. In this circuit, a 40 kHz transducer is used for measurement in the air medium. In this
project, we excite the ultrasonic transmitter unit with a 40 kHz pulse burst and expect an echo
from the object whose distance we want to measure. It travels to the object in the air and the echo
signal is picked up by another ultrasonic transducer unit (receiver), also a 40 kHz pre-tuned unit.

❖ A. Agarwal, et. al (2015) [2] Today technology is improving daily in different aspects in order
to provide flexible and safe movement for the people.Currently the most widespread and used
mean by the visually impaired people are the white stick, however it has limitations.With the
latest technology, it is possible to extend the support give to people with visual impairment during
their mobility; this paper proposes an economical ultrasonic stick for visually challenged people,
so as to gain a personal independence and free from the external help. A portable user friendly
device is developed that can identify the obstacles in the path using ultrasonic sensors and
Camera. Ultrasonic sensors can scan three different directions (at 180o). Camera can be used as
an alternative tool in the places that surrounds with the low signal coverage, a microcontroller,
buzzer and vibrating motor. The buzzer and vibration motor is activated when any obstacle is
detected.

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❖ S. Koley , et .al (2012) [3] Blind People uses white canes to aid in obstacledetection & avoidance.
Guide dogs can also be of limited aid for finding the way to a remote location. So our goal is to
create a portable, simple less costly system that will allow Blind peoples to travel through familiar
and unfamiliar environments without the aid of guides . Several guidance system has been
developed for vision impaired people, but these systems tends to be expensive, also make use of
a client server approach. This Navigation system consists of two distinct components: sensing of
the immediate environment for blind people to travel (e.g.,obstacles and hazards) and navigating
to remote destinations beyond the immediately perceptible environment.

❖ Shruti Dambhare ,et.al (2011) [4] In this research paper they designed an artificial vision and
object detection withreal-time assistance via GPSto provide a low cost and efficient navigation
aid for blind which gives a sense of artificial vision by providing information about the
environmental scenario of static and dynamic objects around them .

❖ M. S. Nowak , et.al (2015) [5] To investigate the prevalence and causes of visual impairment and
blindness in a sample of Polish older adults.The study was designed in a cross-sectional and
observational manner. Data concerning the vision status were assessed in 2214 eyes from 1107
subjects of European Caucasian origin; most of whom live in the city of Lodz, in central Poland.
Visual impairment was defined as distance visual acuity <20/40 in the worse-seeing eye.

❖ G. Gayathri, et. al (2014) [6] This paper is about providing a compatible solution for visually
impaired people and help them to walk independently and confidently. The hardware elements
included are Raspberry pi microcontroller, obstacle detecting sensors, GPS module, speakers and
other connecting components. That data is then processed and required instructions are given to
the blind person.

❖ R. Radhika, et . al (2016) [7] This paper describes the use of Arduino on ultrasonic blind walking
stick. 30 million people are permanently blind and 285 billion are visually impaired, according
to the WHO. When you consider them, you will realize very well that without the aid of others
they can't walk to reach your destination one has to ask for directions. During their daily lives,
they have to face more challenges. The blind handle is safer for a person to walk. The bar senses
the item before the individual and provides the consumer with a vibrational answer or on demand.

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❖ M. H. Mahmud, et .al (2013) [8] from the very beginning of human history, peoples are suffering
from many disabilities. Among those, blindness is very common and unendurable. Science and
technology always try to make human life easier. So the main purpose of this paper is based on
abating the disabilities of blindness by constructing a microcontroller based automated hardware
that can corroborate a blind to detect obstacles in front of him/her instantly. The hardware consists
of a microcontroller incorporated with ping sonar sensor, proximity sensor, wet detector, a micro
pager motor and additional equipment.

❖ A. Jose, et .al (2016) [9] This paper presents the smart walking stick based on ultrasonic sensors
and Arduino for visually impaired people. There are approximately 37 million people across the
globe who are blind according to the World Health Organization. People with visual disabilities
are often dependent on external assistance which can be provided by humans, trained dogs, or
special electronic devices as support systems for decision making. Thus, we were motivated to
develop a smart white cane to overcome these limitations. We accomplished this goal by adding
ultrasonic sensors at specific positions to the cane that provided information about the
environment to the user by activating the buzzer sound. The system was designed, programmed
using C language and tested for accuracy and checked by the visually impaired person. Our
device can detect obstacles within the distance of about 2m from the user.

❖ R. Sheth, et .al (2014) [10] This paper describes the use of Arduino on ultrasonic blind walking
stick. 30 million people are permanently blind and 285 billion are visually impaired, according
to the WHO. When you consider them, you will realize very well that without the aid of others
they can't walkTo reach your destination one has to ask for directions. During their daily lives,
they have to face more challenges. The blind handle is safer for a person to walk. The bar senses
the item before the individual and provides the consumer with a vibrational answer or on demand.

❖ C. S. Kher , et .al (2015) [11] . In this paper, we propose a navigation device for the visually
impaired which is focused on providing voice output for obstacle prevention and navigation using
infrared sensors, RFID technology, and android devices. The proposed device is used for guiding
individuals who are partially sighted or blind. This device is used to help blind people to travel
with the same ease and confidence as sighted people. The device has proximity infrared sensors.

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❖ B. G. Roopashree, et .al (2015) [12] The aim of this paper is to provide a low cost and efficient
navigation aid for blind which gives a sense of artificial vision by providing information about
the environmental scenario of static and dynamic objects around them. The paper presents a
theoretical model and a system concept to provide a smart electronic aid for blind people. The
system is intended to provide overall measures – Artificial vision , object detection and
emergency messaging facility the use ultrasonic sensors to calculate distance of the obstacles
around the blind person to guide the user towards the available path.

❖ O. O. Olakanmi,et .al (2016) [13] The application of engineering practices in medicine has
immensely contributed to the recent findings in biomedical research areas. One of the products
of this application is the development of sophisticated aids for physically challenged people. In
this paper, visually impaired walking aid is designed and implemented using a network of
ultrasonic sensors, thereby capable of detecting the direction and position of obstacle(s). The
performance and functionality are also improved by the addition of alert light, and voice guidance
signal which is relayed to a miniature headset. The recorded voice alerts the user of the presence
and direction of the obstacle(s). The prototype of the multidimensional walking aid was able to
detect obstacles within the range of 0m to 1m at the left, right and front of the stick with an
appropriate voice alert.

E. J. Chukwunazo ,et .al (2015) [14] This paper presents the design and implementation of
Microcontroller Based Mobility aid for visually impaired people. In the world today, about 285
million people are visually impaired. Over the years visually impaired persons have difficulty to
interact and feel their environment. They have little contact with their surroundings, and physical
movement is a very big challenge to them because it can become tricky to distinguish where
he/she is and how to get where he/she wants to go. To navigate to unknown places has to be with
individual support. Majority of the blind people in the world are unemployed because of the type
of jobs available to them are limited; their mobility opposes them from interacting with people
and social activities. This has created very huge concern to people assisting them to walk. This
research work aimed at designing mobility aid to the visually impaired persons in order to
encourage them to move freely anywhere they want at any time without collision and assistance.

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❖ G. Prasanthi ,et.al (2015) [15] The Smart Blind Stick for Obstacle Detection discussed here is
mainly for visually impaired people. In this system, we have developed a stick which consists of
ultrasonic sensor, Arduino uno, buzzer, vibration motor, RX-TX transistor which will help blind
people to detect obstacle and water present on their path to their destination. The main drawback
with blind individuals is to travel a way to their destination where they require to travel. Such
individuals would like help from others with sensible sight. As represented by World Health
Organization, 10 percent of the visually impaired don't have any practical sight in the least to
assist them move around while seeking no help. This work proposes a new technique for
designing a smart stick to help visually impaired people that will provide them obstacle free
navigation. The proposed system intended to provide low cost and efficient navigation aid for the
blind. It gives a sense of artificial vision by providing information about the environmental
scenario of objects around them with the help of sensors working in a manner to avoid obstacle,
warn the blind person about the water in front of him/her and locate the stick in emergency
situation.

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CHAPTER 3

PROPOSED WORK AND ARCHITECTURE

3.1 BLOCK DIAGRAM

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Description

• This prototype will be mainly able to provide a means of transport and communication for
the quadriplegic and deaf and dumb.

• The blind stick is integrated with ultrasonic sensor along with light and water sensing. Our
proposed project first uses ultrasonic sensors to detect obstacles ahead using ultrasonic
waves.

• On sensing obstacles the sensor passes this data to the microcontroller. The microcontroller
then processes this data and calculates if the obstacle is close enough.

• If the obstacle is not that close the circuit does nothing. If the obstacle is close the
microcontroller sends a signal to sound a buzzer.

• The system has one more advanced feature, integrated to help the blind find their stick if they
forget it.

• A wireless RF based remote is used for this purpose. Pressing the remote button sounds a
buzzer on the stick which helps the blind person to find their stick.

• Thus this system allows for obstacle detection as well as finding stick if misplaced by visually
disabled people.

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CHAPTER 4

HARDWARE & SOFTWARE SPECIFICATION

4.1 Arduino Nano Board Layout

Fig 4.1: The figure shows the layout of Arduino Nano board

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Arduino Nano is a popular microcontroller board that is often used in the development of a Multifunctional
Blind Stick for visually impaired individuals. It offers a range of features and advantages that make it well-
suited for this application:

Compact Size: The Arduino Nano is small in size, making it easy to integrate into the design of the blind
stick without adding significant bulk or weight. This is important to ensure that the blind stick remains
portable and convenient for users to carry around.

Low Power Consumption: Arduino Nano is designed to operate with low power consumption, which is
essential for a device like a blind stick that relies on battery power. Low power consumption helps prolong
battery life and ensures that the stick can be used for extended periods without frequent recharging or
battery replacement.

Versatile Input and Output Pins: The Arduino Nano has multiple input and output pins, allowing it to
interface with a wide range of sensors, such as ultrasonic sensors, infrared sensors, gyroscopes,
magnetometers, and tactile buttons. These sensors enable obstacle detection, orientation assistance, and
user interaction, providing valuable feedback to the visually impaired user.

Onboard Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC): The Arduino Nano's built-in ADC allows it to process
analog signals from sensors that provide continuous data, such as distance measurements from ultrasonic
sensors or gyroscopic orientation data.

Programmability: Arduino Nano can be easily programmed using the Arduino Integrated Development
Environment (IDE), making it accessible for both beginners and experienced programmers. The Arduino
IDE provides a user-friendly platform to write, compile, and upload code to the Arduino Nano, enabling
the customization and implementation of various features in the blind stick.

Cost-Effectiveness: Arduino Nano offers a cost-effective solution for building a Multifunctional Blind
Stick. The board is relatively affordable and readily available, making it a popular choice for hobbyists,
researchers, and developers working on assistive technology projects.

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4.2 Buzzer

Fig 4.2: Buzzer

We are using Piezo buzzer to give the response when any objects detected in front of the blind person
while walking and also it is programmed in such a way that when the light falls LDR resistor it starts
producing buzzing sound as shown in the above figure 4.2

It is an electronic device commonly used to produce sound. Light weight, simple construction and low
price make it usable in various applications like car/truck reversing indicator, computers, call bells
etc. Piezo buzzer is based on the inverse principle of piezo electricity It is the phenomena of generating
electricity when mechanical pressure is applied to certain materials and the vice versa is also true. Such
materials are called piezo electric materials. Piezo electric materials are either naturally available or
manmade. Piezo ceramic is class of manmade material, which poses piezo electric effect and is widely
used to make disc, the heart of piezo buzzer. When subjected to an alternating electric field they stretch
or compress, in accordance with the frequency of the signal thereby producing sound.

Working of Piezo buzzer:

When a small DC voltage is applied to the input pins, it is first converted to an oscillating signal using
the combination of resistor and transistor. These oscillating signals are amplified using the inductor
coil. When high voltage alternating signals are applied to the piezo ceramic disc, it causes mechanical
expansion and contraction in radial direction. This causes the metal plate to bend in opposite
direction. When metal plate bends and shrinks in opposite direction continuously it produces sound
waves in the air.

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4.3 Ultrasonic sensor

In this project we are using Ultrasonic ranging module HC-SR04 so that blind person can feel safe
while walking on the road. If any objects arrived with in a range of 2cm to 400cm then then stick gives
him a response by vibrating and also with a buzzer sound so he can aware of that object. We added
pair of ultrasonic ranging modules so the stick can detect the lower objects small stones and higher
objects too. The ranging module is shown in the below Figure 4.3

Fig 4.3: Ultrasonic sensor

Working principle:
As shown in the above Figure 3.3 is a 4 pin module, whose pin names are Vcc, Trigger, Echo and
Ground respectively. This sensor is a very popular sensor used in many applications where measuring
distance or sensing objects are required. The module has two eyes like projects in the front which
forms the Ultrasonic transmitter and Receiver. The sensor works with the simple formula that is,

Distance = Speed × Time

The Ultrasonic transmitter transmits an ultrasonic wave, this wave travels in air and when it gets
objected by any material it gets reflected back toward the sensor this reflected wave is

observed by the Ultrasonic receiver module as shown in the below figure 3.6. The working
principle of a ultrasonic sensor is as below:

• Send at least 10us of HIGH signal to trigger pin.

• Detect the pulse width of echo signal sent back.

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4.4 Battery

Fig 4.4: Battery

The fig 4.4 shows a battery which is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external
connections for powering electrical devices such as flashlights, mobile phones, and electric cars. When a
battery is supplying electric power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its negative terminal is the
anode.

4.5 Push button

Fig 4.5: Push buttons

A fig 4.5 is a push-button (also spelled pushbutton) or simply button which is a simple switch
mechanism to control some aspect of a machine.

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4.6 Jumper Wires

Fig 4.6: Jumper Wires

The fig 4.6 shows a jump wire which is also a electrical wire, or group of them in a cable, with a connector
or pin at each end , which is normally used to interconnect the components of a breadboard or other prototype
or test circuit, internally or with other equipment or components, without soldering.

4.7 VS183B TSOP Sensor

Fig 4.7: VS183B TSOP Sensor

The fig 4.7 represents the standard IR remote control receiver series, supporting all major transmission
codes. The sensor can be used for Proximity detection application. The sensor acts as a receiver and produces
the buzzer sound when the signal is detected.

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4.8 LED

Fig.4.8 LED

The fig 4.8 shows a light-emitting diode which is a semiconductor device that emits light when current
flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the
form of photons. The colour of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photons) is determined by
the energy required for electrons to cross the band gap of the semiconductor. White light is obtained by
using multiple semiconductors or a layer of light-emitting phosphor on the semiconductor device

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4.9 SOFTWARE SPECIFICATIONS

Embedded C

Embedded C is a set of language extensions for the C programming language by the C Standards
Committee to address commonality issues that exist between C extensions for different embedded
systems. Embedded C programming typically requires nonstandard extensions to the C language in
order to support enhanced microprocessor features such as fixed-point arithmetic, multiple distinct
memory, banks, and basic I/O operations. Embedded C uses most of the syntax and semantics of
standard C, e.g, main function, variable definition, datatype declaration, conditional statements (if,
switch case),loops(while,for),functions, arrays and strings ,structures and union,bit
operations,macro,etc.

Program Code (Object detection):

const int trigPin = 3;

const int echoPin = 2;
const int buzzer = 5;
const int motorPin = 5;

long duration;
int distance;
int safetyDistance;

void setup()
{
pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);
pinMode(buzzer, OUTPUT);
Serial.begin(9600);
}

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void loop()
{
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2);

digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(10);
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);

duration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);

distance = duration*0.034/2;

safetyDistance = distance;
if (safetyDistance <= 30)
{
digitalWrite(buzzer, HIGH);
digitalWrite(motorPin, LOW);
}

Serial.print("Distance: ");
Serial.print(distance);
}

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CHAPTER 5
METHODOLOGIES
5.1 METHOD OF WORKING

Here we are using Arduino NANO as the controller. So, the input and output units are interfaced with the
Arduino controller. The ultrasonic sensor is interfaced with Arduino as the input and the output for the
ultrasonic sensor are in the form of sound through buzzer. There is TSOP receiver and transmitter that are
mainly used to find the walking stick which works as wireless. The Arduino is coded using Embedded C
software. Based on the function of the Arduino the program was logically coded in the Embedded C software
and checked for the errors. If there is any error it will be displayed in the message box. After removing the
errors, the sketch can be compiled and run successfully. Finally, the sketch is uploaded into the Arduino
controller through USB serial interface. The pin details are A0 is connected to the LM35’s (temperature
sensor) output pin. The output pin from the water sensor are connected to the A1 Pin (analog pin).

5.2 Large Obstacle Detection Methodology

While walking if any obstacle like human, animal, tree or wall appears in front of him then the Ultrasonic
sensor which is continuously transmitting high frequency sound waves are echoed back after striking the
obstacle and are collected across receiver. These received waves are sending to the processor in the form of
electrical impulse for processing. After processing the Input the processor will sent a voice instruction stored
within the memory for obstacle avoidance and at the same time vibrator also shakes to alert the person
regarding presence of obstacle and his speed of walking and try to find the obstacle free path by directing
sensor in different direction. If the object is found at 1 meter or more then it comes under close zone, an
emergency voice instruction along with vibrating alert will be send to user to stop at the same place and to
find the obstacle free direction using the sensor. And if object is detected at less than 1 meter then it comes
under danger zone, a voice instruction to back step along with vibration alert is send to the user and at the
same time a buzzer will also rung to let people around know that the person is blind and he needs help.

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5.3 Small Obstacle Detection Methodology

If in the way pit, staircase or stone like obstacle which are small in size and cannot be detected by the
Ultrasonic sensor are detected by the IR sensor as it is located at the lower side of the stick. After detecting
the small obstacles on ground, IR sensor will send the signal to the processor and as a result of which the
processor will send a voice instruction for small obstacle available on ground from the memory location
and at the same time it will enable the first buzzer for informing the blind person about presence of obstacle
on ground and thus avoidance the collision.

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CHAPTER 6

EXPECTED RESULTS & PLAN OF EXECUTION

6.1 NECESSARY PARAMETERS

To evaluate the performance of this stick, testing is performed in real world, by actual beneficiaries (trained
and untrained) blind people.

The proposed system should be compared with available and up to date technology. Several parameters
should be considered to evaluate the performance of the proposed guidance system such as the range of
detection, time response and power consumption.

• The first parameter is the range of detection. A tool which can find obstacles throughout 0-2m can be
considered as a low range device, 2-4m as medium range, while higher than 4m is considered as high range.

• The second parameter is the response time, and a system sensing and responding 0–100ms is regarded as
fast, 100–200ms medium and higher than 200ms as slow.

• The third important parameter is the power consumption of the system and how long it will stay working
without the need to recharge. The following ratings are considered: consumption of an electrical power of 0
0.5W is regarded as low power, 0.5–1W as medium consumption, and higher than 1W as high consumption.

• The device is portable if it is light in weight and the user can easily wear for extended period of time
otherwise it is considered non-portable.

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6.2 RESULTS

1. The physically impaired person is taught the positions of the buttons present in the smart blind stick.

2. For navigation, the person can press the navigation button, and it will help them reach their destination
and detect the obstacles present at left, right, and front using ultrasonic sensors.

3. Whenever there is obstacle detection, there is a warning given to the blind person by voice command
via buzzer.

Fig 6.2:Working model of Blind stick

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CHAPTER 7

ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS

7.1 ADVANTAGES

a. This gadget will help all the blind people in the world make them easier to walk everywhere they want.
Furthermore, the navigation system helps them with voice command.

b. It will detect the obstacle coming in the way of blind people.

c. The most important feature will be the panic button on the gadget; whenever the blind person is stuck
or in an emergency, his location will be sent to the predefined person.

d. The gadget will be portable and can be used in other blind sticks also.

e. Convenient and easy navigation aid for unsighted.

7.2 LIMITATIONS
a. There is a requirement of prior training of the blind person in order to use the device.

b. The device cannot recognize small objects.

c. The device cannot differentiate between person or object; it will simply sense it is an obstacle.

d. Does not protect from obstacles at face level or from above the head.

e. Little sensor support in these fields.

f. Limited and fixed route to follow daily routine.

g. Less mechanical strength.

h. In water will damage the circuit.

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CHAPTER 8

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE

The Smart Stick acts as a basic platform for the coming generation of more aiding devices to help the visually
impaired be safe. It is effective and affordable. This product is an attempt to fill the gap formed in visually
impaired people’s life by providing them strength of self-dependency. Here we have designed an
electronically smart guiding stick that is incorporated with multiple sensors which will help in navigating
the way while walking and keep alarming the person if any sign of danger or inconvenience is detected. This
stick also comprises of Text to speech conversion that facilitates the translation of English language text
into speech output in different languages that will help blind and partially sighted people over worldwide to
get audio news update from newspaper study books and hand written notes. This can also be used by the
students for hearing the audio of class notes and understanding the meaning in compatible language. The
system has been designed giving priority to safety, comfort, cost effectives and strength of the product. It
can be further improved to increase its capability of decision making with introducing some other sensors
in the system that will increase the area of application.

8.1 FUTURE SCOPE

Till now we have succeeded to translate English language text into speech output of three different
languages i.e., English, Hindi and Bengali which are the most commonly spoken and understand by the
people of India. We are planning to include some other local languages so that several other visually
impaired people can use this stick to overcome the reading problem in daily life. We are also working out
to include Face recognition system that will avail blind people to recognize the person standing in front of
him. At the same time global positioning system (GPS) can be linked with the voice stick for navigation, so
that person can know his current position and distance from the destination which will be informed to user
through voice instructions whenever needed
The future scope of the existing smart stick, guides the visually impaired person in his navigation
independently in an efficient manner ensuring the person’s safety.

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a. The Braille input device gives the blind person an uncomplicated method to provide the destination
address for navigation.

b. The programmable wheels would steer the stick away from the obstacles and also leading the blind
person towards the destination.

c. Internet of Things is a trending concept which can increase the benefits of the smart stick by allowing
one stick to communicate with another smart stick (or mobile, PCs) nearby to utilize the functionality of
the other stick when one stick’s functionality breaks down.

d. In order to run this integrated set of hardware we can use solar panels as an alternative to the battery.
The use of solar panel occurs to be more advantageous as it uses sunlight, the easily available renewable
resource of energy, to get recharged.

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