Students of the YMCA University of Science and Technology have developed an electronic device that will help visually impaired persons track the way without anyone’s help.

The students behind the innovation — Karan Handa, Mayank Vashisht, Kushank Arora, Moksh Girdhar and Kushal Sharma — are from the electronics engineering department.

They won the second prize for their innovation at a recently concluded technical fest at the Indraprastha Institute of Science and Technology, New Delhi.

Named “Belt Buckle”, the device can be worn around the waist. Students said the person wearing it will have to touch the device to get information about a road they are walking on.

“The device has a sensor. It will be attached with an earphone or headphone that will flash signals via audio messages regarding the hurdles — be it a pit, a stone, a building or a staircase — two foot before the person approaches it,” Karan said.

Mayank said the device could be improved upon. “The device was developed in 16 hours for just Rs 500,” he said.

Dinesh Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of the university, congratulated the students for their innovation. “Their achievement will motivate other students to experiment. The university has signed a couple of MoUs with leading IT companies to set up their centre of excellence on the campus.”

Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/education/students-devise-a-device-for-the-blind/288411.html