SBIR Phase I: Hands Free Silent Tactile Obstacle Avoidance System for Blind Travelers

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目提出设计、开发、评估和指定一种超声波盲人行动辅助装置，将为视障人士提供有效、实惠、轻便和智能的导航辅助装置。在美国1140万视障人士中，超过46%的人每月至少经历一次头部损伤，其中23%的人在运动时需要医疗救治。几十年来，长拐杖和导盲犬或导盲犬一直是为盲人提供行动辅助的最常用方法。由于这些技术侧重于下半身保护，它们实际上可能会将失明的用户引入上半身危险中，造成伤害，而不是保护用户。需要一种新的系统创新，将最新的可用传感器技术和具有嵌入式智能功能的组件结合在一起，为视力障碍者提供与运动相关的帮助。提出了一种由盲人发明家设计的新方法，为这些用户提供免提和无声的信息交流，为视力困难的人传递足够、准确的避障信息。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是一种负担得起的辅助设备，可以准确和有效地保护失明人士在运动时免受头部和上半身的伤害。美国有1140万极端视力障碍者，全球超过1.6亿人。由此产生的设计将使用现代技术，通过允许更多的自由和自信来增强移动性。第一阶段的目标是评估、分析和最终确定盲人移动设备的系统设计，该设备可以静默和无振动地检测并传达有关危险和障碍物的详细位置信息，这些危险和障碍物使安全和有效的旅行变得困难。该产品被设想为一副太阳镜，它将包含传感器，当物体接近指定范围内的物体时，这些传感器将检测物体并进行通信。系统设计将考虑技术改进的步伐和无线、移动互联网、更高密度制造能力更强的微型计算机和传感器的成熟度；随着系统过渡到第二阶段，将考虑对这些不断改进的技术及其产品成熟度的预测，以满足系统功能。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to design, develop, evaluate and specify an ultrasonic blind mobility assistance device that will provide an effective, affordable, lightweight and intelligent navigation assistant for vision-impaired people. Over 46% percent of the 11.4 million visually impaired people in America experience head injury at least once a month of which 23% require medical attention while in motion. The long cane and the guide dog or seeing-eye dog have been the most used method of providing mobility assistance for the blind for decades. Since these technologies focus on lower body protection they can actually lead the unsighted user into an upper body hazard, causing injury rather than protecting the user. A new systems innovation is needed that combines the latest available sensor technology and components with embedded intelligent functions to provide motor related assistance to those with vision disabilities. A new method designed by a blind inventor is proposed to provide hands-free and silent communication of information to these users, transmitting adequate, accurate obstacle-avoidance information for the sight disadvantaged. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be an affordable assistive device to accurately and effectively protect the unsighted from head and upper-body injury while in motion. There are 11.4 million people with extreme vision impairment in the US and more than 160 million globally. The resulting design will use modern technology to enhance movement by allowing more freedom and confidence. The Phase I goal is to evaluate, analyze and finalize a system design of a mobility device for the blind that silently and without vibration detect and convey detailed location information about hazards and obstacles that make safe and effective travel difficult. The product is envisioned to be a pair of sunglasses that would contain sensors that would detect objects and communicate when it nears an object within a specified range. The system design will consider pace of technology improvements and maturity of wireless, mobile internet, higher density manufacturing for more capable microcomputers and sensors; forecasts of these ever improving technologies and their product maturity to address system features will be considered as the system transitions to Phase II.