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

这个小型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移动辅助设备，为视力受损的人提供有效，负担得起，轻便和智能的导航助手。 美国1140万视障人士中，超过46%的人每月至少有一次头部受伤，其中23%的人在运动时需要医疗护理。 几十年来，长手杖和导盲犬或导盲犬一直是为盲人提供行动援助的最常用方法。由于这些技术专注于下半身保护，它们实际上可能导致失明的用户进入上半身危险，造成伤害而不是保护用户。需要一种新的系统创新，将最新的传感器技术和组件与嵌入式智能功能相结合，为视力残疾者提供与运动相关的帮助。提出了一种由盲人发明者设计的新方法，为这些用户提供免提和无声的信息交流，为视力受损者传递足够、准确的避障信息。 该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是一种负担得起的辅助设备，可以准确有效地保护失明者在运动时免受头部和上身伤害。 美国有1140万人患有极端视力障碍，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信心来增强运动。第一阶段的目标是评估、分析和完成盲人移动设备的系统设计，该设备可以无声地、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，当它接近指定范围内的物体时，传感器将检测物体并进行通信。 系统设计将考虑无线、移动的互联网的技术改进速度和成熟度，以及更高密度制造的更强大的微型计算机和传感器;在系统过渡到第二阶段时，将考虑这些不断改进的技术及其产品成熟度的预测，以解决系统功能。

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.