I Staff: Walking Stick for the Blind

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

One of the biggest challenges for blind people is to roam around or navigate unfamiliar places. Hence, their participation to some social and physical activities is limited. This makes them resort to using either a walking stick or having a friend or family member walk them around. Either way, this makes a walking stick a necessity for the blind.Because of this, the researchers thought of how the basic walking stick can be upgraded to be suited to the needs of the intended users.

METHODS

The I Staff was constructed following an approved design with features of alarm and sensors enabling the blind to perceive his surroundings and minimize exposure to hazards. It was tested for accuracy and functionality of programs and features which can be determined by indicators 1 and 0 corresponding to success or fail, respectively. Thirty sets of data per function were collected, analyzed, and interpreted.

RESULTS

Results of the 30-trial functionality and accuracy test reveal the following results: sensors 30 out of 30, alarm -30 out of 30, security (Taser) -30 out of 30, programming of the device -28 out of 30, and water resistance -28 out of 30.

DISCUSSIONS

The following success rates of each part was obtained: sensors -100%, alarm -100%, security (Taser) -100%, programming of the device -93%, water resistance -93%. This only reveal a success rate of 97% for functionality and accuracy. Therefore, this device is recommendable for use among blind people.