Eye of God
Global Winner of Google's DSC-21. An easy-to-use navigation system for visually impaired people.
The World Health Organization puts the global figure of visually-impaired and blind people at 285 million. For these people, navigating busy urban landscapes can be extremely challenging. To offer a solution to the urban-dwelling visually-impaired, we built “Eye of God”. It is an easy-to-use navigation system for visually impaired people, acting as their “virtual-cane” to help them navigate to their destination all by themselves without needing the assistance of other people.
The Eye of God navigation system comes in two modes: Indoor Navigation and Outdoor Navigation.
Indoor Navigation: The user is prompted to speak out a destination like “General Ward Sign” in a hospital. Once the system recognises the said text in the vicinity, a pulsating vibration will be given on the motor of the belt which is in the direction of the destination. For all the other objects in the frame, a constant vibration will be produced on detection, to avoid deviation from the path.
Outdoor Navigation: The user is prompted to speak out the destination, and the most optimal route is calculated. Since blind people are more efficient in hearing and possess stronger perception than normal people, therefore the system is focused on alerting the user through vibration (Haptic) and voice feedback. Step by step sound-based navigation commands are provided along with alerting the user about obstacles in the path through vibration from four motors mounted on a waist belt. Two pulses followed by constant vibration will be provided for pre-determined dangerous objects. When the user needs to make a turn, the system also provides the exact measure (in degrees) of the turn along with pulsating haptic feedback through leftmost or the right most motor depending upon the turn to inform the user the correct direction to turn to, to ensure user stays on route. This innovative use of technology can help visually impaired people feel more empowered and independent, thus bridging the gap and getting them at par with the sighted ones.
In accordance with:
- United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities.
- United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, & Infrastructure.
- United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.