An IoT-ML based Proactive Walking aid for the Visually Challenged

Abstract

The numbers of elderly people are rising in countries like India and China. Most of the elderly uses a walking stick for their commuting. Also blind peoples need a walking aid for their day to day life. This work mainly focuses on the design and development of a proactive walking aid for the blind and the elderly peoples. The stick is designed mainly using a ultrasonic sensors which is fit along with the existing hardware. This work analyses various difficulties that a person with disabilities faced in their life. So this work caters or handles most of the aspect an elderly or blind is needed using Internet of Things (IoT). Apart from the ultrasonic sensors it employs a buzzer that beeps when a person or object is approaching in front of the stick. Whenever a person with the stick get hit or stuck somewhere for a predefined time, then an alert along with the GPS coordinates sent to the emergency contact. Most of the literature supports a stick with reactive in nature, this work supports a proactive approach as it predicts the object at a distance rather than after it touches the stick. This system also employs machine learning algorithms to predict the nature of the person using the stick. Our results have shown that the stick can be the only aid that either an elderly or blind people can use.