September 21, 2016 AT 11:06 am
Wrist-Worn PING Sensor Assists the Blind with Navigation using Haptic Feedback #WearableWednesday
Fantastic evolution of this project by Neil Movva using a perfect purple PCB (image below). The ‘Pathfinder‘ uses a glove- or wrist-worn PING sensor to assist the blind with navigation (watch the video below for an intriguing demo!).
Pathfinder is a wearable device that translates distance into haptic feedback. Users just wear the wristband (or glove) and point at objects up to 500 centimeters away, and feel gentle pulses at their fingertips corresponding to the object’s distance. It’s designed to give the user greater freedom of motion and longer operational range than traditional navigation solutions for the blind, such as the cane. I incorporated research ranging from embedded electronics to the neuroscience of touch to turn this simple concept into the best prototype I could, before sharing the device with my local community center for the blind.
See the full project here at Hackaday.io and hat-tip to Drew Fustini for blogging this at OSH Park blog reminding us about this project.
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