Vision Assist – Siddhant Bhardwaj

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Vision Assist 2.0

The Vision Assist 2.0 version is improved in esthetics, comfort and functionality. For starters, the product is a hat and a glove, not an uncomfortable armpiece.

In 2018, I constructed Vision Assist, and continued to improve the
solution with the award-winning device, Vision Assist 2.0, in 2019.

Vision is taken for granted, according to the World Health Organization research conducted in 2012, there are 285 million visually impaired people in the world. The goal of Vision Assist project was to design and develop a wearable device to aid the visually impaired in movement safely and provide ability to be independent eliminating the need of cane and additional assistance. The Vision Assist 2.0 allows for the wearer through the sensor-based technology detect surrounding objects relative to their position, therefore avoid obstacles they would not be able to see.

Although millions of people lack the ability to see, there is a lack of a practical product on the market that is both cost effective and efficient in assisting the visually impaired population.

The Vision Assist 2.0 is a wearable and an enhanced version of the original Vision Assist modeled in 2018 and showcased at the Westport Maker Faire and Cheshire Public School Discovery Expo. The original prototype involved one ultrasonic sensor connected to a raspberry pi through GPIO pins that rested on a 3D printed armpiece. The sensor sent sound waves out, and when the wearer approached an object, the waves bounced back. To alert the user, the Vision Assist used beeps, the closer the wearer was to the object, the louder the beep.

The product now contains more sensors providing a 360-defense mechanism to the wearer, which increases the accuracy of the device and allows wearers to be more attuned to their surroundings. In this effort and passion to help the visually impaired, the Vision Assist was created as a trailblazing, cost effective product.