SYNOPSIS

CHAPTER 1
ABSTRAC
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2
SHOE MODULE
HARDWARE DETAILS
SOFTWARE DETAILS
CHAPTER 3
CANE MODULE
HARDWARE DETAILS
SOFTWARE DETAILS
CHAPTER 4
MERITS
FUTURE SCOPE
REFERENCES

1
 ABSTRACT

The main objective of this project is to provide an acoustic assistance to the

blind people and also to deal with the problems faced by them to walk like the normal
human beings. Thus, the project aims to develop a device that would serve as a guiding
assistance to them. The project focuses on designing a device for visual impaired (or
blind) people that would help them to travel independently and also with more ease.
One of the biggest problems that the visual impaired ones face is while travelling
because when they walk in the indoors and outdoors they are not well aware of
information about their location and orientation with respect to traffic and obstacles on
their way unlike the normal beings.

The project consists of smart shoes and smart cane (stick) that alerts
visually-impaired people over obstacles coming between their ways and could help
them in walking with less collision. The main aim of this project is to address a reliable
solution which is encompassing of a cane and a shoe that could communicate with the
users through voice alert and pre-recorded messages.

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Assistive technology is one way of supporting the blind people. Assistive

technology refers to a range of tools, devices, and strategies that allow a visual
impaired one to accomplish a task that they would otherwise be unable to do, or would
have difficulty accomplishing effectively. Assistive technology can be simple or complex.

Figure1.1 Global Blindness Chart

Figure1.1 depicts the status of the population of the blind people or the
visually impaired people over the total population. India contributes about 21% of the
blind people over total population. Among every 179 people, there is 1 blind person. In a
million population, there are around 53 thousand persons visually impaired, 46
thousand persons having low vision and around 7000 have completely lost their vision.
The objective of the project is to provide best and healthy solution to visual impaired
people that help them to overcome the obstacles coming on their way [3].

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1.1 LITERATURE SURVEY

In 2001, Gemperle Fetal, proposed that, most of the assistive devices for the
blind that exploit touch as the substitution sense are tactile displays for the fingertips
and palms. Typical tactile displays involve arrays of vibrators or upward/downward
moveable pins as skin indentation mechanisms. The bandage-sized tactile display is an
innovative touch stimulation device based on EAP soft actuator technology. It is soft and
flexible and can to be wrapped around the finger like a Band-Aid. This new wearable
display could be used as a Braille display or as a multi-purpose tactile display to convey
visual information to the blind”.

In 2006 Shinohara said, Smart cane is one of the creations which was the
origination of the technique required to help blind people equipped with some sensors.
This comprises of ultrasonic sensors and servo motors to navigate visually impaired
people.

In 2013, HarshadGirishLele said that, the technology can remove the barriers
between the humans and their illness. There are various methods to measure the
distance between the obstacles and overcome the problem of blind people. One of the
methods is the use of ultrasonic sensors in the shoe implemented in the form of an
array around the sole.

In 2012, M. Nassih quoted that, the smart stick for the blind people can also use
the technique of RFID(Radio Frequency Identification)to detect the objects or the
obstacles in front of user. This invention is just like a simple stick used by blind people
but equipped with a bag also. This bag provides electricity supply and indicates user by
the speaker.

In 2013 Alshbatat and Abdel IlahNour explained giving importance to the stick
used by the blind people. The guide cane is designed to navigate visually impaired
ones. This guide cane is somewhat heavier than the white cane.

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 In 2012 MuhsinAsaad.H., explained, the technology upgraded to one step more.
The cane is able to detect above the knee level upto the 2 or 3 feet. When an obstacle
is detected, this stick vibrates or makes a sound.

In 2015 Syed TehzeebAlam said that, related to the guide cane there was also
a smart cane invented with almost same configurations. This cane uses ultrasonic
sensors and the servomotors to detect the obstacles. There is a microcontroller inside
the cane which will work on the received instructions like right, left, straight etc.
However this system also has some limitations like it not easy to handle and requires
large area or space to be placed because they cannot be folded.

From the above survey it was depicted that following were the loopholes in the
conventional technologies invented for the blind persons:

There are many models that already have been made and have been
implemented for helping the visual impaired people that help them in walking on the
roads approximately equal to that of normal one. The existing technology does consists
of the smart shoes and the smart stick. These technologies have been built up but are
implemented separately i.e. shoes and stick separately .One of the major limitations of
these existing technologies is that these technologies are expensive. And also causes
implementation problems when acquired in the real world.

1.2 OBJECTIVE

To overcome the above defined limitation of the existing technology for the visual
impaired people, the modified technology results in the integration of both shoes and
stick resulting in single unit or as a single equipment known as “Smart Assistive Shoes
and Cane”. Under this technology, both shoes and cane and are connected with each
other via Bluetooth technology to act as a single system and enhanced the existing
technology. This technology solves the minor problems that were arising due to the
usage of the single module only.

5
1.3 GENERAL FLOWCHART

Start

. Battery Drains Away

Generate a pulse to
the IR sensor
transmitter (TX) Shut down the device for
user safety

Get the Reflection

time from the IR
sensor (RX)

End

Distance is calculated
using the echo time

NO
R
(or) L

YES
Play an acoustic feedback for
obstacle detected

Left side Right side Front side

6
 The above stated process is done for each and every IR sensor connected to
the module and the voltage levels depending upon the status of the IR sensor are
transmitted to the micro-controller and as per the data collected an appropriate acoustic
feedback signals is generated thus, alerting the blind person about the surroundings.
This whole process also takes some delay to confirm that accuracy of polling of sensors
and after that small delay period provides the acoustic feedback. The acoustic feedback
can be:

 “Front IR detected” if the obstacle is in the front of the user

 “Right IR detected” if the obstacle is on the right side of the user

Here the left IR sensor is not used in shoe because right leg of user will work as
obstacle for it. So left IR sensor is used on cane. There would a rechargeable battery
connected to the shoe module for the proper functioning of the modules.

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 CHAPTER 2

SHOE MODULE

2.1 BLOCK DIAGRAM

Figure 2.1 shows the block schematic of the shoe module

Figure 2.1 Block diagram of Shoe module

IR Sensor1

This sensor detects the presence of the obstacles in the front direction and sends
the command to the controller for the detection of object in the front direction.

IR Sensor2

This sensor detects the presence of the obstacles in the right direction and sends
the command to the controller for the detection of object in the right direction.

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Arduino Nano

This is the main controller of the shoe module which receives the command from
both the sensors and gives command to the speaker as per signal received.

Bluetooth Module

This module is used to interconnect the shoe module and cane module via
Bluetooth wireless technology. Due to this interconnection, both have communication of
signals to execute commands.

Voltage Convertor

This electronic device is used to convert the voltage obtained from the battery
(3.7 V) to the voltage required to run the device (5.0 V).

Rechargeable Battery

It is a battery used for the continuous power can be delivered to the controller to
be in active state. It can be recharged again and again by the simple mobile charger.

2.1.1 Working

Shoe module is the primary part of the whole system. It consists of two IR
sensors, one for right direction and other for the front direction. It measures the ground
level. When any obstacle comes in front of these IR sensors then the IR waves gets
reflected back from the obstacle and come back to the sensor again which result in
some different action in the sensor [4]. The analog signal reflected back is converted
into digital signal by the sensor which is then compiled by the processor of shoe to
check from which direction it came. After compiling, the processor sends it to the stick
via Bluetooth which is further processed by the processor. According to it, the pre-
recorded voice message is buzzed through the speaker.

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2.2 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
Figure 2.2 comprises all the inter connections of the modules that helps in the
complete practical realization. Arduino Nano controller along with two IR sensors, one
for the front detection and other for the right detection, a Bluetooth module (HC-05) for
the communication with the secondary (cane) module and a rechargeable lithium ion
battery along with a battery charger providing the necessary supply to the whole circuit.
The buzzer is also used for alerting the user playing different sounds for different
direction with a transistor and resistor to minimize the power dissipation.

Figure 2.2 Circuit diagram of Shoe module

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2.3 HARDWARE DETAILS
The hardware used for implementing this project is listed below.
2.3.1 Arduino Nano

The Arduino Nano is a small, complete, and breadboard-friendly board based

on the ATmega328P (Arduino Nano 3.x). It has more or less the same functionality of
the Arduino Duemilanove, but in a different package. It lacks only a DC power jack,
and works with a Mini-B USB cable instead of a standard one.

Figure 2.3 Arduino Nano Diagram

Features

The Arduino Nano, as the name suggests is a compact, complete and bread-
board friendly microcontroller board. The Nano board weighs around 7 grams with
dimensions of 4.5 cm to 1.8 cm (L to B).Arduino Nano is a ATmega328P-8 bit AVR
family microcontroller. It will operate at 5V and it has 6 analog input pins (A0-A5).It has
a flash memory of 32KB and is used for storing code and has a crystal oscillator of
frequency 16MHz.The input voltage varies from the limits of 7-12V. It consists of 14
digital I/O pins of which 6 pins provide PWM output. DC current for the I/O pins is about
40mA.It weighs about 7grams only. The SRAM can vary from 1KB or 2KB and
EEPROM is 512bytes.

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PIN DIAGRAM

Figure 2.4: Pin diagram of Arduino nano

Features Of ATmega328
ATmega328 has an advanced RISC architecture module. It has 131 powerful
instructions and most single clock cycle execution for executing the instructions and it
has 32 x 8 general purpose working registers. It has up to 20 MIPS throughput at 20
MHz and it has On-chip 2-cycle multiplier.

High Endurance Non-volatile Memory Segments

It has 4/8/16/32K Bytes of In-System Self-Programmable Flash program

memory to store the program, and it can be deleted using reset button Also it has
256/512/512/1K Bytes EEPROM o 512/1K/1K/2K Bytes Internal SRAM. It has the read
and erase cycles of 10,000 for Flash memory and100, 000 for EEPROM. It has the data
retention of 20 years at 85°C/100.and it has optional boot code section with
independent lock bits. In-System Programming by On-chip Boot Program .The output
will be true while read and low while write. There is a program lock for software security.

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Peripheral Features

The ATmega328 microcontroller will have two 8-bit timer/counters with separate
prescale and compare mode. Also it has One 16-bit Timer/Counter with Separate
Prescale, Compare Mode, and Capture Mode, Real Time Counter with Separate
Oscillator, Six PWM Channels, 8-channel 10-bit ADC in TQFP and QFN/MLF package
6-channel 10-bit ADC in PDIP Package. There is an arrangement for temperature
measurement. It also has Programmable Serial USART, Master/Slave SPI Serial
Interface, Byte-oriented 2-wire Serial Interface (Philips I2 C compatible) , Programmable
Watchdog Timer with Separate On-chip Oscillator , On-chip Analog Comparator and
Interrupt and Wake-up on Pin Change

It has 23 Programmable I/O Lines to program and 28-pin PDIP, 32-lead TQFP,
28-pad QFN/MLF and 32-pad QFN/MLF. It had the voltage range of 1.8 - 5.5V.It has the
clock speed of 0 - 4 MHz@1.8 - 5.5V and 0 - 20 MHz @ 4.5 - 5.5V.The power
consumption is at 1 MHz, 1.8V, 25°C and at Power-down Mode: 0.1 µA, Power-save
Mode: 0.75 µA (Including 32 kHz RTC)

Applications of Arduino Nano

It is used in embedded system for designing projects, and used in many

automation industries to control the process. They are used in the field of robotics
because it is easy and simple to program. They are also used in control system and
instrumentation.

2.3.2 Bluetooth Module (HC-05)

HC-05 Bluetooth Module is an easy to use Bluetooth SPP (Serial Port Protocol)
module, designed for transparent wireless serial connection setup. Its communication is
via serial communication which makes an easy way to interface with controller or PC.
HC-05 Bluetooth module provides switching mode between master and slave mode
which means it able to use neither receiving nor transmitting data.

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 The HC-05 is a very cool module which can add two-way (full-duplex) wireless
functionality to your projects. You can use this module to communicate between two
microcontrollers like Arduino or communicate with any device with Bluetooth
functionality like a Phone or Laptop. There are many android applications that are
already available which makes this process a lot easier. The module communicates with
the help of USART at 9600 baud rate hence it is easy to interface with any
microcontroller that supports USART

Figure 2.5 Bluetooth module

HC-05 Technical Specification

Serial Bluetooth module for Arduino and other microcontrollers. The Operating
Voltage is 4V to 6V (Typically +5V).The Operating Current is 30mA and the range of
operation <100m.It Works with Serial communication (USART) and it is TTL compatible.
It follows IEEE 802.15.1 standardized protocol. It uses Frequency-Hopping Spread
spectrum (FHSS).It can operate in master, slave or Master/Slave mode. It can be easily
interfaced with Laptop or Mobile phones with Bluetooth. Supported baud rate is
9600,19200,38400,57600,115200,230400,460800..

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Pin Description

TABLE 2.1

Pin Pin Name Description

Number

1 Enable / Key This pin is used to toggle between Data Mode (set low) and AT
command mode (set high). By default it is in Data mode

2 Vcc Powers the module. Connect to +5V Supply voltage

3 Ground Ground pin of module, connect to system ground.

4 TX – Transmits Serial Data. Everything received via Bluetooth will be

Transmitter given out by this pin as serial data.

5 RX – Receive Serial Data. Every serial data given to this pin will be
Receiver broadcasted via Bluetooth

Operation of HC-05 Bluetooth Module

The HC-05 has two operating modes, one is the data mode in which it can send
and receive data from other Bluetooth devices and the other is the AT command mode
where the default device settings can be changed. The device can operated in either of
these two modes by using the key pin as explained in the pin description.

It is very easy to pair the HC-05 module with microcontrollers because it operates
using the Serial Port Protocol (SPP). Simply power the module with +5V and connect
the Rx pin of the module to the Tx of MCU and Tx pin of module to Rx of MCU as
shown in the Figure 2.6.

15
 Figure 2.6 pin diagram of bluetooth module

During power up the key pin can be grounded to enter into Command mode, if
left free it will by default enter into the data mode. As soon as the module is powered
you should be able to discover the Bluetooth device as “HC-05” then connect with it
using the default password 1234 and start communicating with it.

Applications

The Bluetooth module can be used in wireless communication between two

microcontrollers, communication with laptop, desktops and mobile phones. It is used in
data Logging applications and consumer applications. And it is also used in wireless
robots for communication and home automation.

2.3.3 IR sensors (IR323/H0-A)

An infrared sensor is an electronic device that emits in order to sense some

aspects of the surroundings. An IR sensor can measure the heat of an object as well as
detects the motion. These types of sensors measures only infrared radiation, rather
than emitting it that is called as a passive IR sensor. Usually in the infrared spectrum,
all the objects radiate some form of thermal radiations. These types of radiations
are invisible to our eyes that can be detected by an infrared sensor. The emitter is
simply an IR LED (Light Emitting Diode) and the detector is simply an IR photodiode

16
which is sensitive to IR light of the same wavelength as that emitted by the IR LED.
When IR light falls on the photodiode, the resistances and these output voltages,
change in proportion to the magnitude of the IR light received. The figure 2.7 will show
the IR sensor.

figure 2.7 IR sensor

IR Sensor Circuit Diagram and Working Principle

An infrared sensor circuit is one of the basic and popular sensor module in an electronic
device. This sensor is analogous to human’s visionary senses, which can be used to
detect obstacles and it is one of the common applications in real time.

This circuit comprises of the following components

LM358 IC 2 IR transmitter and receiver pair, Resistors of the range of kilo ohms,
Variable resistors ,LED (Light Emitting Diode).

17
 figure 2.8 internal circuit of IR sensor

The figure 2.8 will show the internal circuits in the IR sensor. In this project, the
transmitter section includes an IR sensor, which transmits continuous IR rays to be
received by an IR receiver module. An IR output terminal of the receiver varies
depending upon its receiving of IR rays. Since this variation cannot be analyzed as
such, therefore this output can be fed to a comparator circuit. Here an operational
amplifier (op-amp) of LM 339 is used as comparator circuit. Refer [6]

When the IR receiver does not receive a signal, the potential at the inverting
input goes higher than that non-inverting input of the comparator IC (LM339). Thus the
output of the comparator goes low, but the LED does not glow. When the IR receiver
module receives signal to the potential at the inverting input goes low. Thus the output
of the comparator (LM 339) goes high and the LED starts glowing. Resistor R1 (100 ),

18
R2 (10k ) and R3 (330) are used to ensure that minimum 10 mA current passes through
the IR LED Devices like Photodiode and normal LEDs respectively.

2.3.4 voice Recording Module (Isd 1820)

Voice Record Module is based on ISD1820, which a multiple‐message

record/playback device. It can offers true single‐chip voice recording, no‐volatile
storage, and playback capability for 8 to 20 seconds. The sample is 3.2k and the total
20s for the Recorder. This module use is very easy which you could direct control by
push button on board or by Microcontroller such as Arduino, STM32, Chip Kit etc. The
figure 2.9 will show the voice recording module.

figure 2.9 Voice recording module

Features

The module has Push‐button interface to ON and OFF. The playback can be
edge or level activated. It has Automatic power‐down mode to reduce the power
consumption. It has On‐chip 8Ω speaker driver to play the audio signal.it has the 3V
power supply and high power can also be given. This module can be can be controlled
both manually and by MCU (Microcontroller Unit). Sample rate and duration can be
changed by replacing the single resistor .The audio can bed recorded up to 20 seconds.
And it has the dimension of 37x 54 mm.

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PIN DESCRIPTION

VCC– 3.3V power supply

GND– Power ground

REC-The REC input is an active‐HIGH record signal. The module starts recording
whenever REC is HIGH. This pin must remain HIGH for the duration of the recording.
REC takes precedence over either playback(PLAYL or PLAYE) signal.

PLAYE – Playback, Edge‐activated: When a HIGH‐going transition is detected on

continues until an End‐of‐Message (EOM) marker is encountered or the end of the
memory space is reached.

PLAYL – Playback, Level‐activated, when this input pin level transits for LOW to HIGH,
a playback cycle is initiated.

SPEAKER OUTPUTS – The SP+ and SP‐ pins provide direct drive for loudspeakers
with impedances as low as 8Ω.

MIC – Microphone Input, the microphone input transfers its signals to the on‐chip
preamplifier.

FT – Feed Through: This mode enable the Microphone to drive the speaker directly.

P‐E – Play the records endlessly.

To change record duration, an external resistor is necessary to select the record

duration and sampling frequency, which can range from 8 – 20 seconds (4‐12kHz
sampling frequency). The Voice Record Module provides default connect 100k resistor
by a short cap. So the default record duration is 10s.The table 3.2 will give the selection
of resistor for particular range of sample rate.

20
 TABLE 2.2: Selection of resistor

ROSC Duration Sample Rate Bandwidth

80 KΩ 8 Sec 8.0 KHz 3.4 KHz

100 KΩ 10 Sec 6.4 KHz 2.6 KHz

120 KΩ 12 Sec 5.3 KHz 2.3 KHz

160 KΩ 16 Sec 4.0 KHz 1.7 KHz

200 KΩ 20 Sec 3.2 KHz 1.3 KHz

Procedure

1. Push REC button then the RECLED will light and keep push until record end.

2. Release the REC button

3. Select Playback mode: PLAYE, just need push one time, and will playback all of the
record or power down ; PLAYL, need always push this button until to stop playback
record or end ; When short P‐E jumper the record will playback a time until jumper off
or power down 4. FT mode, when short FT jumper, that means all can speak to MIC will
direct playback to Speaker.

2.3.5 Voltage Converter

This DC-DC Module is based on IC XL6009E1 which is a high-performance step-

up switching current (BOOST) module. The module uses the second generation of high-
frequency switching technology XL6009E1 core chip that offers superior performance
over the first generation technology LM2577. XL6009 replaces LM2577 module as
LM2577 is about to be phased out. The figure 2.10 shows the voltage converter
module.

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 figure 2.10 Voltage converter

Features

The voltage converter has Wide input voltage range of 3V – 32V (optimum
operating voltage range is 5 – 32V) and it also has the wide output range 5V – 35V
(Adjustable using on board preset).There is a 4A MOSFET switches enables efficiency
of up to 94% (LM2577 current is 3A).The voltage converter has MOSFET switches
enables efficiency of up to 94% (LM2577 current is 3A).

Battery

Batteries are a collection of one or more cells whose chemical reactions create
a flow of electrons in a circuit. All batteries are made up of three basic components: an
anode (the '-' side), a cathode (the '+' side), and some kind of electrolyte (a substance
that chemically reacts with the anode and cathode).Used to give supply to the circuit.

22
 CHAPTER 3

CANE MODULE

figure 3.1 block diagram

The cane module, is the primary unit as compared with the shoe part and
primarily function for detecting obstacles above the knee level and collecting the
information from an IR sensor along with an ultrasonic sensor connected and
transferring the information gathered so that the primary objective of the design can be
fulfilled i.e., the blind person or the visually impaired person gets to know about the
obstacle through a speech output.

ULTRASONIC SENSOR:
Ultrasonic detection is most commonly used in industrial applications to detect
hidden tracks, discontinuities in metals, composites, plastics, ceramics, and for water
level detection. For this purpose the laws of physics which are indicating the
propagation of sound waves through solid materials have been used since ultrasonic
sensors using sound instead of light for detection.

23
BUZZER:
Buzzer or a beeper is an audio signaling device. It can be a mechanical, electro
chemical or piezoelectric. It requires 4 to 8 volts DC and less than 30mA of current.

ARDUINO UNO:

The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328 (datasheet).

It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog
inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header,
and a reset button. It produces the control signal to the cane module.

VOLTAGE CONVERTER:
This electronic device is used to convert the voltage obtained from the battery
(3.7 V) to the voltage required to run the device (5.0 V).

WORKING

The ultrasonic sensor senses the obstacles above the knee level .The output
form the ultrasonic sensor is given to the Arduino Uno. The IR sensor senses the
objects in the left direction. The output will be given to the microcontroller. When the
sensors senses the obstacles the buzzer will give alert to the visually impaired people

24
3.2 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
The figure 3.2 will give the circuit diagram of the cane module which consist of all the
components.

figure 3.2 Circuit diagram

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3.3 HARDWARE DETAILS

3.3.1 ARDUINO UNO

The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328
(datasheet). It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM
outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator, a USB connection, a power
jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the
microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-
to-DC adapter or battery to get started. The figure 3.3 will show the Arduino uno.

figure 3.3 Arduino uno

The Uno differs from all preceding boards in that it does not use the FTDI USB-to-serial
driver chip. Instead, it features the Atmega16U2 (Atmega8U2 up to version R2)
programmed as a USB-to-serial converter. Revision 2 of the Uno board has a resistor
pulling the 8U2 HWB line to ground, making it easier to put into DFU mode.

26
Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on 8-bit ATmega328P microcontroller.
Along with ATmega328P, it consists other components such as crystal oscillator, serial
communication, voltage regulator, etc. to support the microcontroller. Arduino Uno has
14 digital input/output pins (out of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog input
pins, a USB connection, A Power barrel jack, an ICSP header and a reset button.

COMMUNICATION
Arduino can be used to communicate with a computer, another Arduino board or
other microcontrollers. The ATmega328P microcontroller provides UART TTL (5V)
serial communication which can be done using digital pin 0 (Rx) and digital pin 1 (TX).
An ATmega16U2 on the board channels this serial communication over USB and
appears as a virtual com port to software on the computer. The ATmega16U2 firmware
uses the standard USB COM drivers, and no external driver is needed. However, on
Windows, a .in file is required. The Arduino software includes a serial monitor which
allows simple textual data to be sent to and from the Arduino board. There are two RX
and TX LEDs on the Arduino board which will flash when data is being transmitted via
the USB-to-serial chip and USB connection to the computer (not for serial
communication on pins 0 and 1). A Software Serial library allows for serial
communication on any of the Uno's digital pins

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PIN DESCRIPTION
TABLE 3.1

Pin Pin Name Details

Category

Power Vin, 3.3V, 5V, GND Vin: Input voltage to Arduino when using an external
power source.
5V: Regulated power supply used to power
microcontroller and other components on the board.
3.3V: 3.3V supply generated by on-board voltage
regulator. Maximum current draw is 50mA.
GND: ground pins.

Reset Reset Resets the microcontroller.

Analog A0 – A5 Used to provide analog input in the range of 0-5V

Pins

Input/output Digital Pins 0 - 13 Can be used as input or output pins.

Pins

Serial 0(Rx), 1(Tx) Used to receive and transmit TTL serial data.

External 2, 3 To trigger an interrupt.

Interrupts

PWM 3, 5, 6, 9, 11 Provides 8-bit PWM output.

SPI 10 (SS), 11 Used for SPI communication.

(MOSI),12(MISO)
and 13 (SCK)

Inbuilt LED 13 To turn on the inbuilt LED.

TWI A4 (SDA), A5 Used for TWI communication.

(SCA)

AREF AREF To provide reference voltage for input voltage

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

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 The Arduino Uno consists of ATmega328P microcontroller from the 8 bit AVR
family. Its operating voltage is about 5V.The recommended input voltage range is 7-5V.
The input voltage limit is 6-20V.It has 6 analog output pins (A0-A1), and 14 digital
pins (out of which 6 provides PWM outputs).The DC output current range of I/O pins are
40mA and 50 mA for 3.3V pins. It has the flash memory of 32KB (0.5 KB is used for
boot loader).And it has the SRAM of 2KB, 1KB OF EEPROM. It has the clock frequency
of 16MHz.

PROGRAMMING ARDUINO
Once Arduino IDE is installed on the computer, connect the board with
computer using USB cable. Now open the Arduino IDE and choose the correct board by
selecting Tools>Boards>Arduino/Genuino Uno, and choose the correct Port by
selecting Tools>Port. Arduino Uno is programmed using Arduino programming
language based on Wiring. To get it started with Arduino Uno board and blink the built-
in LED, load the example code by selecting Files>Examples>Basics>Blink. Once the
example code (also shown below) is loaded into your IDE, click on the ‘upload’ button
given on the top bar. Once the upload is finished, you should see the Arduino’s built-in
LED blinking.

APPLICATIONS

Arduino Uno comes with a wide range of applications. A larger number of people
are using Arduino boards for developing sensors and instruments that are used in
scientific research. Following are some main applications of the board. They are used in
System, Security and Defense System, Digital Electronics and Robotics, Parking
Lot Counter, weighing Machines, Traffic Light Count down Timer, Medical
Instrument, and Emergency Light for Railways, Home Automation, and Industrial
Automation.

3.3.3 ULTRASONIC SENSOR (HC-SR04)

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 Ultrasonic detection is most commonly used in industrial applications to detect
hidden tracks, discontinuities in metals, composites, plastics, ceramics, and for water
level detection. For this purpose the laws of physics which are indicating the
propagation of sound waves through solid materials have been used since ultrasonic
sensors using sound instead of light for detection.

figure 4.4 Ultrasonic sensor

FEATURES

The Operating voltage of ultrasonic sensor is +5V. It can measure the distance
from 2 cm to 450 cm. The practical measuring distance varies from 2cm to 80cm.The
accuracy of ultrasonic sensor is 3mm and its measuring angle is less than 15 degree.
The operating current is 15 mA and the operating frequency is 40Hz.

HC-SR04 ULTRASONIC SENSOR - WORKING

The HC-SR04 Ultrasonic (US) sensor is a 4 pin module, whose pin names are
Vcc, Trigger, Echo and Ground respectively. This sensor is a very popular sensor used
in many applications where measuring distance or sensing objects are required. The

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module has two eyes like projects in the front which forms the Ultrasonic transmitter and
Receiver. The sensor works with the simple formula that is

Distance = Speed × Time

The Ultrasonic transmitter transmits an ultrasonic wave, this wave travels in

air and when it gets objected by any material it gets reflected back toward the sensor
this reflected wave is observed by the Ultrasonic receiver module as shown in the
figure 3.5.

figure 4.5: working of ultrasonic sensor

Now, to calculate the distance using the above formulae, the speed and the time
should be known. Sincethe ultrasonic sensor is used the universal speed of US wave at
room conditions which is 330m/s. The circuitry inbuilt on the module will calculate the
time taken for the US wave to come back and turns on the echo pin high for that same
particular amount of time, this way the time taken can be easily calculated using
microcontroller.

APPLICATIONS

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 The ultrasonic sensor is Used to avoid and detect obstacles with robots like
biped robot, obstacle avoider robot, path finding robot etc. and Used to measure the
distance within a wide range of 2cm to 400cm.This sensor Can be used to map the
objects surrounding the sensor by rotating it .It can also use to find the depth of certain
places like wells, pits etc. can be measured since the waves can penetrate through
water.

IR SENSOR

An infrared sensor is an electronic device that emits in order to sense some

aspects of the surroundings. An IR sensor can measure the heat of an object as well as
detects the motion. These types of sensors measures only infrared radiation, rather
than emitting it that is called as a passive IR sensor. Usually in the infrared spectrum,
all the objects radiate some form of thermal radiations. These types of radiations
are invisible to our eyes that can be detected by an infrared sensor. The emitter is
simply an IR LED (Light Emitting Diode) and the detector is simply an IR photodiode
which is sensitive to IR light of the same wavelength as that emitted by the IR LED.
When IR light falls on the photodiode, the resistances and these output voltages,
change in proportion to the magnitude of the IR light received. The working principle of
IR sensor is clearly explained in chapter 2.

BUZZER
The piezo buzzer produces sound based on reverse of the piezoelectric
effect. The generation of pressure variation or strain by the application of electric
potential across a piezoelectric material is the underlying principle. These buzzers can
be used alert a user of an event corresponding to a switching action, counter signal or
sensor input. They are also used in alarm circuits.

The buzzer produces a same noisy sound irrespective of the voltage variation
applied to it. It consists of piezo crystals between two conductors. When a potential is
applied across these crystals, they push on one conductor and pull on the other. This,

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push and pull action, results in a sound wave. Most buzzers produce sound in the range
of 2 to 4 kHz.

APPLICATION
The buzzers are used in Electrical alarms, Judging panels, Educational
purposes. They are used in electric metronomes, game show lock-out device and
microwave ovens. They are also used in the general household applications and toys,
school level projects.

BATTERY

Batteries are a collection of one or more cells whose chemical reactions create
a flow of electrons in a circuit. All batteries are made up of three basic components: an
anode (the '-' side), a cathode (the '+' side), and some kind of electrolyte (a substance
that chemically reacts with the anode and cathode).Used to give supply to the circuit.

CHAPTER 4

SOFTWARE REQIREMENT

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ARDUINO IDE
Arduino IDE is an open source software that is mainly used for writing and
compiling the code into the Arduino Module. It is an official Arduino software, making
code compilation too easy that even a common person with no prior technical
knowledge can get their feet wet with the learning process. It is easily available for
operating systems like MAC, Windows, and Linux and runs on the Java Platform that
comes with inbuilt functions and commands that play a vital role for debugging, editing
and compiling the code in the environment.

A range of Arduino modules are available, including Arduino Uno, Arduino

Mega, Arduino Leonardo, Arduino Micro and many more. Each of them contain a
microcontroller on the board that is actually programmed and accepts the information in
the form of code. The main code, also known as a sketch, created on the IDE platform
will ultimately generate a Hex File which is then transferred and uploaded in the
controller on the board. The IDE environment mainly contains two basic parts: Editor
and Compiler where former is used for writing the required code and later is used for
compiling and uploading the code into the given Arduino Module. This environment
supports both C and C++ languages.

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 CHAPTER 5

5.1 BENEFITS

The accurate detection of the obstacles in right, left and front direction is
possible in this module. It is very easy and convenient to the users .It gives
independency and confidence to the visually impaired people. Detection of obstacles
from head to ground levels is possible in this project. The cost is also very low, it has
the feasibility. It has very low power consumption and high performance. There is
automatic detection and alarm.

6.2 LIMITATIONS

The recognition of the obstacle is difficult. It will sense all the obstacles so it
is difficult to identify the obstacle .It has no waterproof. The circuit will be damaged
when it is exposed to water.

CONCLUSION

35
 This project consist of shoe and stick module so This depicting the integration
of the both modules of the protocol into a single unit overcomes almost all the limitations
that were in the previous versions of the technology. Thus this technology becomes a
reliable partner for the visually impaired people in every situation. This system will
detect the presence of the obstacles coming in the front of the blind person and then
alert them about the direction of the obstacles so that they can walk with ease. The
system comprises of the sensors that receives signals and then send commands to the
controller which executes it further about the direction. Thus, allowing the blind person
to walk independently among obstacles.This project offers a numerous applications in
the medical field to provide a better responsive mate to the visually impaired.

The system has been used to receive data from the sensing devices, two connected to
the shoe to detect objects at the ground. Then, as per the information received by the
micro-controller, it provides an acoustic feedback to the user. Thus, allowing the blind
person to move independently, safely and quickly through the obstacles and danger
zones areas. This system doesn’t require a huge device to hold for a long, tenure and
distance and it also doesn’t require any special training for its utilization by the subject.
Hence, this project proves to be a boon for the bind or the visually impaired offering a
great and much needed independence to them. Thus, our objective of eliminating the
dependency of blind person is successfully achieved.

CHAPTER 6

36
FUTURE SCOPE

It has been observed that developed support system- is accurate in detecting the
obstacle at the ground level and alerting the visually impaired person find their way
bypassing every obstacle that comes on their way to the destination. So, firstly we will
work on designing such cane that will detect the obstacle on the knee level and for left
side too. And then integrate both the modules by the Bluetooth connectivity.

If a visually impaired person wants to go to a city location, they can walk along a
road or corridor using an ETA system in the local area. However, it is difficult to know
one's position globally. Hence, a global positioning method will be the subject of further
research. The global position of' the user is obtained using the global positioning system
(GPS), and their current position and guidance to their destination will be given to the
user by voice. A wall-following function will also be added so that the blind can walk
straight along a corridor in an indoor environment. Future work will be focused on
enhancing the performance of the system and reducing the load on the user by adding
the camera to guide the blind exactly. Images acquired by the web camera and NI-
smart cameras helps in identification of objects as well as scans the entire instances for
the presence of number of objects in the path of the blind person.

REFERENCE

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1. ParthDhall, et al, ‘A REVIEW PAPER ON ASSISTIVE SHOE & CANE FOR
VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE’ International Journal of Scientific Research and
Management Studies (IJSRMS), 2017

2. Shristhi Thakur, et al, ‘Smart Assistive Shoes for the Blind People’, International
Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication
(IJRITCC),2016

3. Shinohara, K. ‘Designing assistive technology for blind users’ In Proceedings of

the 8th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and
accessibility,2014

4. A.Sangami, M.Kavithra, K.Rubina, S.Sivaprakasam "Obstacle Detection and

Location Finding For Blind People", International Journal of Innovative Research
in Computer and Communication Engineering,2015

5. Mohammad Hazzaz, et al., "Smart Walking Stick- an electronic approach to

assist visually disable persons", International Journal of Scientific & Engineering
Research , 2013.

6. HarshadGirishLele, Viten Vilas Lonkar, VarunVasantMarathe, Mrunmayi Mohan

Modak. "Electronic path guidance for visually impaired people." The International
Journal of Engineering and Science (IJES), 2013.

7. MohdHelmyAbd Wahab, Amirul A. Talib, Herdawatie A. Kadir, “Smart Cane:

Assistive Cane for Visually-impaired People”, Journal: IJCSI International Journal
of Computer Science Issues, July 2011.

8. Sung Jae Kang, et al." Development of an Intelligent Guide-Stick for the Blind",
Proceeding of the IEEE international Conference on Robotics & Automation,
2010

9. S.Innet,N. Ritnoom” An Application of Infrared Sensors for Electronic White

Stick”, in international conference ,2008

10. Michel .A, “ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED

PEOPLE”,2008

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