Authors: Prof. P. Prasanna, Arjun C, Chinmay J, Deepak B B, Dhanush S Yadav
Abstract: Visually impaired individuals face severe challenges in independent navigation. Traditional white canes provide only contact-based obstacle detection and cannot warn users of overhead hazards, wet surfaces, or distant obstacles—significantly limiting their mobility, safety, and self-reliance. Existing com-mercial smart canes, while technologically superior, remain prohibitively expensive and require specialised training. This paper presents the design and implementation of a Smart Blind Assistive Stick: a low-cost, IoT-enabled, real-time navigation aid built around an ATmega328 microcontroller. The system integrates an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor for non-contact obstacle detection up to 2 m, a moisture sensor for wet-surface identification, and multi-modal feedback through a vibration motor and buzzer. An optional GSM/GPS module enables real-time location sharing with caregivers via SMS. The firmware was developed in Embedded C on the Arduino IDE, simulated in Proteus, and physically prototyped. Testing confirmed obstacle detection accuracy within a 2 m range, sub-100 ms system response time, reliable wet-surface detection, and successful emergency SMS transmission with live GPS coordinates. The device operates for 6–8 hours on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack and maintains a compact, lightweight form factor suitable for daily indoor and outdoor use. Results demonstrate that a well-integrated multi-sensor embedded system can effectively bridge the technological gap in assistive mobility devices.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20391169
