Four final year B.Tech students of Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) at Matunga have developed a portable device that will enable the visually impaired to navigate without any other assistance. The students claim that the device would offer unprecedented autonomy for the visually impaired.

The device will be unveiled on Wednesday at a school for the blind and will be exhibited during the annual technological festival of the institute, Technovanza, in December.

Dhara Shah, general manager of the event Mission Mumbai that is part of Technovanza, said the project was started by Saurabh Nair, Raj Samant, Dharmendra Hingu and Sarvesh Hegde last year as part of their project work. "This year, the concept has taken a physical shape and has been tested," said Shah.

Raj Samant said, "The device consists of cameras mounted on spectacles that will send feeds of the terrain to the handheld computing device. It will convert the video files into stereo signals that will be sent to vibrators attached to the body of the blind person. The vibrations will warn users about obstacles in front of them, thus allowing them to navigate (walk) without colliding with the obstacle."

Samant added the device would be tested during a social initiative drive by the institute, Umeed, at some schools for the blind. "The idea is to offer a device that will enable them to walk without the assistance of a walking stick."

The students said the cost of the device was yet to be fixed. "The device is ready for commercial use. It will be affordable. The results are heartening, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done for making it a commercially viable proposition," said one of the students.

SOURCE: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/vjti-students-develop-navigation-devic...