Haptic Shoe For The Blind

Outdoor navigation is the major hurdle that a visually impaired person must go through on a day to day basis.


Anirudh Sharma aged 24 is a young researcher at Hewlett-Packard Labs in Bangalore, who showed sensitivity towards the needs of the visually impaired, and he worked over several nights to design a shoe for the blind.


Arduino LilyPad is the main circuit board, which is kept at the back mid-sole region of the shoe. The mini-vibrational actuators are placed on all sides for the directional haptic feedback so that an approaching turn triggers the vibration. The system comprises of a mechanism that condenses complex geographical navigational information and lets the user feel the directional and proximity information through vibrations. 


The vibrators and proximity sensor put in one shoe of the pair enables the user to walk without any physical aid. All that the user requires is a Le Chal shoe and a mobile phone with global positioning system (GPS). Once the user sets a destination on the phone before starting the journey, the Bluetooth communication between the shoe and phone does the rest. 


The phone fetches turn-by-turn Google maps data in the background and keeps updating the user with haptic feedback about the direction the user needs to turn to. As soon as the user starts his or her journey, the GPS transmitter within the cellphone gets real-time location using Google Maps. The built-in compass in the GPS module calculates the direction user is walking in. When the turning point is approached a mild vibrational feedback activated in the shoe informs the user the direction he or she needs to turn to. The strength of the vibration depends upon the overall proximity from the destination, that is, vibration is weak in the beginning and is incrementally stronger at the end of the navigation task. The built-in proximity sensor of the shoe can detect up to 10 feet, informing the user of the surroundings and allowing him or her to make decisions and plan the next move.

It is unlike any other existing aids that are available in the market for visually impaired people, this haptic shoe is simple and unobtrusive in design, uses low-cost readily available components, and provides tactile feedback. 

This new cutting edge interactive clothing, is impressive, and i think it will become a popular item of clothing that a visually impaired person will have.