Sonar Watch Guides the Visually Impaired

Dec-01-14 A sonar-powered watch developed by team of students could provide the visually-impaired with a new way to navigate their environment.

The watch, inspired by the echolocation of bats, was created by the student team during a STEM brainstorming session and is meant to be used in conjunction with other assistive devicee. The prototype device is powered by an Arduino Lilypad microprocessor and is equipped with a pair of sonar distance sensors and two vibrating motors from cellphones. As the device measures the distance to nearby objects, the vibrations will vary in frequency—becoming faster as the wearer nears the obstacle.

The team now plans to make the sonar watch smaller and more attractive while still keeping it affordable and power-efficient.

More Info about this Invention:

[MEDGADGET.COM]
[NEWS.WFU.EDU]

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