Smart Cane for the Visually Impaired

Visual impairment is understood as the partial or total loss of sight even with the use of optical aids, impacting notoriously on daily life, most of the time making them dependent on others, with mobility being one of the most affected aspects. There are support tools to facilitate it, being the white cane the most used; however, it has a series of disadvantages such as the detection range and the lack of attention of the upper body plane. This work presents the design and development of a functional prototype of a smart cane, which adapts to the environment of the blind person and solves the problems previously mentioned, as well as a mobile application to which it is connected as a guide and localisation aid in case of accident. The results show a reliability of 98% in the obstacle detection distance, with a vertical detection angle of 13.2% and a horizontal detection angle of 21.46%, as well as a correct activation of the alarm states in the event of falls, warning the family member and indicating the GPS position; all of this with a battery life of 32 h.