AN IOT BASED SMART STICK FOR BLIND AND

VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSON

by

Nigar Sultana
16266003

A Project submitted to the Department of Computer Science and Engineering

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
M.Engg. in Computer Science and Engineering

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

Brac University
September 2021

© 2021. Brac University

All rights reserved.
Declaration
It is hereby declared that

1. The project submitted is my own original work while completing degree at

Brac University.

2. The project does not contain material previously published or written by a

third party, except where this is appropriately cited through full and accurate
referencing.

3. The project does not contain material which has been accepted, or submitted,
for any other degree or diploma at a university or other institution.

4. We have acknowledged all main sources of help.

Student’s Full Name & Signature:

Nigar Sultana
16266003

i
Approval
The Project titled “AN IOT BASED SMART STICK FOR BLIND AND VISU-
ALLY IMPAIRED PERSON” submitted by Nigar Sultana (16266003) Of Spring,
2021 has been accepted as satisfactory in partial fulfillment of the requirement for
the degree of M.Engg. in Computer Science and Engineering on September, 2021.

Examining Committee:

Supervisor:
(Member)

Dr. Amitabha Chakrabarty,PhD

Associate Professor
Department of Computer
Science and Engineering
Brac University

Head of Department:
(Chair)

Sadia Hamid Kazi

Associate Professor
Department of Computer
Science and Engineering
Brac University

ii
Abstract
Vision loss has a devastating effect on the lives of those who experience it. It affects
as well as on their family, friends and society. Completely loosing or deterioration of
eyesight is frightening and unbearable which leaves those affected to question their
ability to maintain their independence, remain employed, and provide for themselves
and their families. Loss of vision can affect one’s standard of life, his independence
and mobility as well as it also has been linked to falling down, being injured, mental
health issue, social function, cognition and educational attainment. In our society
visually impaired or blind people is not very uncommon. At least 2.2 billion people
have a near or distance vision impairment globally according to the World Health
Organization (WHO). People with vision impairment have lower rates of productiv-
ity and workforce participation. They also have high rates of anxiety and depression.
The deterioration of vision that they have to suffer from not only matter but also
the overall quality of their lives deteriorates too. Vision impairment causes social
isolation, a higher risk of falls and fractures. The biggest challenge for a blind per-
son is to navigate around places. Without a human guide he or she cannot navigate
around places, especially in a new terrain. Vision impairment is associated with an
increased risk of fractures which has been shown in multiple studies. This prob-
lem can be life threatening as well.To make life easier for someone with vision loss,
SMART STICK has been developed. By detecting obstacles and identify the cur-
rent position of the blind and visually impaired person IoT based SMART STICK
can solve many challenges. Basic requirements of the blind and visually impaired
person can be met through this Stick. This IoT based Smart Stick can make a
visually impaired person to walk more confidently. The study hypothesizes with the
concept of a Smart Stick which allows a visually impaired person to navigate over
obstacles and have less incidents.The development work of this Stick involves coding
and physical installation of various types of components. The aim of this project
is to build a smart stick that could communicate with its users helps him to move
freely and overcome his disability.

iii
Acknowledgement
Firstly, all praise to the Almighty Allah for whom my project have been completed
without any major interruption.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to my advisor Dr. Amitabha Chakrabarty,
Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Brac University for his
kind support and valuable advice in my work. He helped and guided me with great
dedication and knowledge in the process of this project.
Finally, I thank to my family and parents for their constant support and encourage-
ment throughout the study.

iv
Table of Contents

Declaration i

Approval ii

Abstract iii

Acknowledgment iv

Table of Contents v

List of Figures vii

List of Tables viii

1 Introduction 1
1.1 Motivation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Problematic description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Aims and Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4 Organization of the report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2 Background Study 5
2.1 Literature Review: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3 Hardware Description 7
3.1 Hardware Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.1.1 Arduino UNO: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.1.2 Ultrasonic Sensor: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.1.3 Water Sensor: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.1.4 Buzzer: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.1.5 IR remote control (Infrared remote control) and Receiver: . . 13
3.1.6 Push Button: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.1.7 SIM 808 Module: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4 Methodology 20
4.1 Outline of the project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.2 Flow Chart of the proposed system: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5 Implementation 24
5.1 Software Implementation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.2 Hardware Implementation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

v
6 Result And Discussion 30
6.1 Distance measurement test result: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.2 Water detection test result: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
6.3 GPS tracking test result: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
6.4 IR system test result: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

7 Conclusion 38

Bibliography 40

vi
List of Figures

1.1 Foldable white cane that is usually used worldwide . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.2 The Smart stick helps to walk more comfortably . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3.1 Diagram of Arduino Uno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3.2 Ultrasonic Sensor that has been used for obstacle detection . . . . . . 10
3.3 How does ultrasonic sensor work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.4 Water Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.5 Piezo Buzzer and its Working Principal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.6 IR remote and Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.7 The conceptual view of how an IR transmitter receiver pair works . . 15
3.8 Push Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.9 GPS GSM GPRS SIM808 Module and pin diagram . . . . . . . . . . 17

4.1 Block Diagram of the system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.2 Flow Chart of the system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

5.1 Converting degree,minutes and second to latitude and longitude . . . 25

5.2 Circuit Diagram for obstacle detection and IR remote receiver . . . . 25
5.3 Interfacing ATmega328 with SIM808 module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.4 Circuit for obstacle detection, water detection and IR receiver . . . . 28
5.5 SIM808 module along with emergency push button is connected with
ATmega328. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.6 Working model of the prototype. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

6.1 Graph between actual and detected distance for obstacle height 10cm 32
6.2 Graph between actual and detected distance for obstacle height 15cm 32
6.3 Graph between actual and detected distance for obstacle height 22cm 33
6.4 Detected value of the sensor changes slightly while height of the ob-
stacle changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.5 Terminal window displaying after sending sms to track location . . . 35
6.6 SMS containing location of the visually impaired individual . . . . . . 35
6.7 Snapshot of the code for IR remote and receiver function . . . . . . . 36
6.8 Terminal window displaying after pressing the ”on” button of the
remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

vii
List of Tables

6.1 Distance measurement test result when obstcle height is 10cm . . . . 31

6.2 Distance measurement test result when obstcle height is 15cm . . . . 31
6.3 Distance measurement test result when obstcle height is 22cm . . . . 31
6.4 Water Sensor test result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

viii
Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Motivation:
The primary goal of this project is to outline a smart stick to extend the portability
of a visually impaired person. Around 80% information human being receive from
the environment via sight[12]. A lot of people who lost their eyesight or are suffering
from blindness or partial blindness, have to go through severe hardship. Even many
children are born with blindness. They have a long life ahead but they will have
to be dependent on others. Mobility of the people who are visually impaired is
restricted to recognize their surroundings due to their incapability. Their life can
be significantly improved and their hardship could be reduced if mobility can be
improved by reducing their dependency on others. This plays an important role to
come up with this decision.

Visual Impairment: The term “blindness” has a broad spectrum of visual dis-
ability from when one’s eye sight is impaired enough to interfere with daily activities
up to total blindness. Physiological or neurological causes create a state of lacking
the visual perception. Each person’s experience of blindness is unique and it has
many causes which affects eyesight differently. Blindness is commonly stated as the
state of being totally sightless in both eyes. A completely blind individual is not
capable to see at all. The word blindness is commonly used as a relative term for
signifying visual impairment or low vision which means that even with the help of
eyeglasses, contact lenses, medicine or surgery, a person would not be able to see
well. Vision impairment can be ranged from mild to severe. There are some causes
of vision impairment. The significant causes are[17]:

1. cataract

2. trachoma

3. glaucoma

4. diabetic retinopathy

5. age-related macular degeneration

6. uncorrected refractive errors

1
 7. corneal opacity

Recent data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows us that glob-
ally minimum of 2.2 billion people have been suffering from a near/distance vision
impairment.Among them approximately 50 million people are totally blind. [6] Par-
tial blindness is caused due to the lack of integration in the growth of the optic nerve
or visual center of the eye. According to WHO statistics 246 million people have low
vision[5]. They need help mostly to carry out their daily lives’ routine. According
to the The International Classification of Diseases 11 (2018) there are two types of
vision impairment i)distance vision impairment ii) near vision impairment [7].

Distance vision impairment:

ˆ Mild – if the visual acuity is worse than 6/12 to 6/18

ˆ Moderate – when the visual acuity is worse than 6/18 to 6/60

ˆ Severe – if the visual acuity is worse than 6/60 to 3/60

ˆ Blindness – when visual acuity is worse than 3/60

Near vision impairment:

ˆ if the acuity is worse than N6 or M.08 at 40cm.
Usually blind or visually impaired people use conventional white stick for naviga-
tion.The main white stick for blind is composed after War World I. White cane
or Blind Stick is a long (generally white colored) stick that is utilized by visually
impaired individuals to know surroundings of them. It is used to identify openings,
staircase, pit and slant of the ground or any item around them. When utilizing the
white stick, one end of the stick is held by the person and the bottom portion of it
touches the ground. A visually impaired individual will swing and tap the stick as
he walks forward. There are four types of white stick[18].

1) The first kind of white stick is a long stick. The length of this stick is the longest.
It is the most essential, alterable and lesser maintenance is required. Therefore it is
the most ordinarily utilized. Essential training is required to habituate this sort of
white stick for blind individuals. By using this stick they can move freely.

2) The second type of white cane is Guide cane. This stick is considerably shorter
than long stick which is just to the abdomen of the person. Therefore, it has bring
down portability work. It can be used to recognize gaps, stones, and check.

3) The third type of white stick is identification stick. It is also called symbol
stick. It is not intended for portability reason. However, it is intended to remind
people around is that the client is visually impaired. The purpose of this white stick
is for general society for providing helping hand to visually impaired person.

4) The last type of white stick is a kids’ stick. This sort of white stick is for kids’
utilization. It has similar properties like long stick.

2
1.2 Problematic description
Customary white stick is not able to enhance everyday comforts of visually impaired
individuals[18]. Visually impaired individual needs to be trained by experts to use
the white stick to do their day by day tasks. White stick is able to find an obstruction
up to one meter. It can’t aware the client when there is a deterrent in front of
them until the client has touched it at the certain point. As visually impaired
person would not be able to detect the presence of a hitch, any instance might occur
because of that. Severe damage on visually impaired individual might occur due
to the instances. Besides, visually impaired individual may get lost as well as face
some hazard or even be threatened when they need to travel. Therefore, they have
to rely on others for everyday life.

1.3 Aims and Objective

There are many limitations as touching or tapping on the object/obstacle with the
conventional blind stick is necessary. There can be possibilities of accidents due to
this process. Frequent occurrence of stumbling or shattering objects is very common
for the people who uses conventional blind stick. Although guidance of dogs as well
as humans as a guide can be helpful but this procedure is not only expensive but
also very difficult to maintain.Smart Stick can be an alternative to dogs and human
guides as it can detect surrounding objects without any prior information.

Figure 1.1: Foldable white cane that is usually used worldwide

To reduce the hardship and struggle of the visually impaired individual, Intelligent
IoT based Smart Stick is designed that could guide the visually impaired to move
freely without worrying about road obstacles or water ahead. The inbuilt Global
Positioning System (GPS) is a key factor that will help family members to know the
location of the visually impaired person through SMS. Therefore, he can be tracked
by his caregiver. Also in case of emergency SMS can be sent by the visually impaired
person by pressing emergency button in the stick to the already stored contacts.

3
 Figure 1.2: The Smart stick helps to walk more comfortably

Due to the reliability and outstanding versatility of the ultrasonic sensor it has
been applied to the smart walking stick. The device is very robust. Therefore,it can
operate in the most adverse situation. Integrating the ultrasonic sensor to the smart
stick is the most suitable option because it serves as a traveling aid. Water sensor
has been used to detect water in front of visually impaired individual. Buzzer has
been used to inform the visually impaired individual if there is water or obstacle
ahead. This proposed system comes with a remote control as well which is used to
locate stick in case the stick get misplaced. IR remote receiver system is used for
this purpose. Buzzer has been used for detection.

1.4 Organization of the report

The project report is divided into seven chapters and organized in the following way-
Chapter 1- Overview of the project is briefly described in this chapter.
Chapter 2- In this chapter, previous papers in this area has been discussed.
Chapter 3- This chapter describes about various types of required equipment for the
project.
Chapter 4- Methodology and process of the venture and the techniques to actualize
the venture.
Chapter 5- The way this project has been implemented has been described in this
chapter.
Chapter 6- Experimental result has been discussed.
Chapter 7- Contains conclusion and future work.

4
Chapter 2

Background Study

2.1 Literature Review:

”Smart Walking Stick for Visually Impaired People Using Ultrasonic Sensors and
Arduino” was proposed by Dada Emmanuel Gbenga, Arhyel Ibrahim Shanti, et [4]
al which was an amalgamation of individual electronic components. Some other
electronics sensors and components were also used to build this modified cane along
with the ability to solve many issues faced by visually impaired individuals. To
detect all kinds of obstacles Ultrasonic Sensor is used and to detect water in the
pathway of the user water sensor is used. This cane is made to identify and detect
the obstacles as well as humidity in the pathway.

”IoT Based Smart Walking Cane for for Typhotic with Voice Assistance” was pro-
posed by Sathya Narayanan, Gokul Deepan D, Nithin B P. Vidhyasagar[2]. They
have designed a system that can solve the challenges of visually impaired individ-
ual easily. It can detect obstacles anywhere along with level crossing guidance and
identifying live location of the blind person. Ultrasonic Sensors detect the obsta-
cles and Global Positioning System (GPS) has been used to identify live location of
the blind person. Reflective Infra Red (RIR) sensor implements the Level Crossing
Guidance. Through Wi-Fi module live location of the blind person is uploaded to
cloud. Stereophonic Headphone converts Text-to-speech to give the smart stick user
navigation information along with instructions. In noisy environments buzzer and
vibratory circuit helps to find the distance.

Shah Md Mostofa, et al. Proposed ”A Cost Effective Smart walking Stick for Vi-
sually Impaired Pepole”[16]. For visually disabled citizens Smart Stick guidance
model has been developed. An Arduino based controlling system is in it where an
Ultrasonic Sensor has been used for object detection around the user to prevent
collusion. To monitor the light strength around surroundings a light sensor is used
and also there are LED lights to give signal. A buzzer is here to detect obstacles
around the stick which is fitted in a controlling system powered by DC source. This
system is being created to help the users who are visually disabled as well as to help
them to navigate around them which will help to prevent physical injuries.

5
N. Rama Murthy, N. Sudha proposed ”Smart Navigation System for Visually Chal-
lenged People”[3]. They provided a system architecture of waist belt and shoe that
could detect obstacles by the visual impaired individual. For this purpose they used
2 sensors at spectacles and 3 sensors at waist belt. They are separated by 12cm
from each other. The two sensors in the shoe of which one is facing the front and
the other one facing is the down.

Sharma, Himanshu, et al. proposed ”Embedded Assistive stick for visually impaired
Persons”[9]. Crater or hole identification and avoidance system is implemented when
designing the stick. The basic idea is to set the ultrasonic sensor at 30 degree angle
on the smart stick which will detect hole or staircase which is at 30 cm distance in
front. Accidental falling or getting injured can be avoided by it. Secondly, there is a
moisture detection sensor at the bottom of the stick which will detect moisture level
of the land or soil and notify him if the moisture level exceeds in a point that might
wet the users foot. Thirdly, to detect the obstacles which are above knee level an
additional ultrasonic sensor has been used on top of the stick. There is an alarm and
vibration system integrated with it. If there is people, object or any kind of obstacle
within 50cm ahead the alarm and vibration system will alert the user. Fourthly,
at 20cm height of the stick there is another ultrasonic sensor which will detect the
obstacles which are below knee level and which can detect the obstacle at a distance
of 70cm. A wireless RF remote module (Transmitter & Receiver) is included if the
blind person drops the stick or forgets it somewhere. When the remote is pressed,
integrated alarm and vibrator will turn on. By this process the user will find it. An
arduino microcontroller, three ultrasonic sensors, RF modules, two buzzers and two
vibration motors are used to build this system.

Loganathan, N., et al. created the idea ”Smart Stick for Blind People”[14]. They
proposed a solution for the blind people where they have used an ultrasonic sensor
in the blind Stick which can identify any obstacle at the distance of four meters. To
perceive unidentified obstacles ahead infrared instrument is used. To help the user
finding the stick, radio frequency transmitter and receiver would help. After detect-
ing any obstacle ahead the vibration motor gets activated and through vibration
it signals its user. Arduino UNO is being used as microcontroller in this proposed
method. According to Loganathan, N. this smart stick is user friendly, low power
consumer, quick responsive and easy to hold and fold by the user.

Chen, Liang-Bi, et al. have given the idea of ”An implementation of an intelli-
gent assistance system for visually impaired/blind people.”[11] In their paper they
submitted the theory of an assistance system which is intelligent enough to replace
guided dog or human assistance. This assistance system is composed of intelligent
smart stick, wearable smart glasses, mobile application and online information plat-
form. When a blind person wears the smart glasses and holds the smart stick, object
or obstacle in front is detected. If the blind person happens to fall in a hole or be
on an accident, this information (through GPS) will be recorded and uploaded in
the online server. By using the mobile application most of the related information
can be seen remotely.

6
Chapter 3

Hardware Description

3.1 Hardware Description

The total system is developed to offer the visually impaired person to give comfort
and independence to some extent. Depending on several factors the appropriate
hardware selection process has been done. For example- depending on the atmo-
spheric condition making the system affordable and reliable, desired precision of
measurements, low cost with better accuracy, , types of obstacle that needs to be
detected, the range of the detection etc. This system has been designed considering
the above mentioned parameters. It is an integration of both software and hardware.
In order to achieve this, suitable hardware and components have been chosen. There
are various prototyping boards available in the market that has different features
and usage such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi, NodeMcu etc. In this project Arduino
Uno has been used as the control kernel. The Hardware that have been used in this
project are as follows-

3.1.1 Arduino UNO:

In this system, Arduino Uno has been used as microcontroller which is mainly based
on ATmega328. There are many features of ATmega32 for which it is selected as
microcontroller in this project. For, example, It can be connected to the computer
through USB port easily. ATmega328 board possesses regular innovation. It also
has a bug fix in the design which makes the board compatible for this project’s use.
The microcontroller ATMega328 is easily available and convenience to use. There
are other components like PWM pins, timers, other types of sleep modes, external
interrupts or internal interrupts etc. The board has got open source tool that has
some advantages. It has several hardware components and has the capability to
interact with those devices. It is also included of internet, Bluetooth, motor control
and many more. This board is flexible which supports the chip of the controller to
be replaced from the board in case it got damaged. The power supply can be done
using a USB cable, an AC to DC adapter or a battery otherwise. Analyzing the
input it can detect its surroundings. With the help of IDE (Integrated Development
Environment) and Arduino programming language and the ATmega328 microcon-
troller can be programmed[19].

7
 Figure 3.1: Diagram of Arduino Uno

Features of Arduino Uno:

ˆ There are 14 Digital I/O pins

ˆ There are 6 Analog I/O pins

ˆ The operating voltage : 5V

ˆ The input voltage ranges: 6v-20V

ˆ For each I/O pin, DC Current : 40 mA

ˆ Flash Memory : 32 KB

ˆ SRAM: 2 KB

ˆ EEPROM: 1 KB

ˆ CLK Speed: 16 MHz

Arduino Uno PIN diagram: Brief description of the PIN diagram of Arduino
UNO board is as follows-

ˆ Power Supply: There are two ways of for power supply. It can either be done
using a USB cable or using an external power source. The external power sup-
plies can be done using AC to DC adapter otherwise a battery. For AC to DC

8
 adapter power supply, the adapter need to be plugged in into the power jack
of the board. On the other hand, If it is done by the battery, the Vin pin and
the GND pin should be connected to the battery leads. It is suggested that
the voltage range is to be around 7 volts to 12 volts.

ˆ Input and Output: There are 14 digital pins on the board which will be
used as input and output. The function will be helpful for this purpose are
like pinMode(), digitalWrite(), digitalRead() etc.

ˆ Pin 0 (RX) and Pin 1 (TX) (Serial): For transmitting and receiving TTL
serial data these pins are used. These are mainly connected to TTL Serial chip
equivalent pins to the ATmega328 USB.

ˆ Pin 2 and Pin 3 (External Interrupts): For activation an interruption

over a low value or to change in value these external pins can be used.

ˆ Pins 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11 (PWM): This pin is given 8-bit PWM output
with the help of analogWrite() function .

ˆ SPI Pins (Pin-10 (SS), Pin-11 (MOSI), Pin-12 (MISO), Pin-13 (SCK):
For maintaining SPI-communication these pins are used.

ˆ Pin-13(LED): As the value of the pin is HIGH, the light emitting diode is
activated. Whenever the pin is LOW, the light emitting diode is deactivated.

ˆ Pin-4 (SDA) and Pin-5 (SCL) (I2C): These pins support TWI-communication
with the help of the Wire library.

ˆ AREF (Reference Voltage): It is used for analog input.The function analo-

gReference() is used for this purpose.

ˆ Reset Pin: To reset the microcontroller this RST pin is used.

ˆ Memory: It has flash memory-32 KB to store code along with 2 KB of SRAM

and 1 KB of EEPROM.

ˆ Communication:This board uses UART TTL-serial communication. It is

accessible using digital pins like TX (1) and RX (0). The serial monitor
of the software permits easy data. Two LEDs on the board RX and TX
will blink whenever data is being broadcasted through the USB. Software
Serial library permits for serial communication. The ATmega328 supports
SPI-communication as well as TWI (I2C).Arduino software has a wired library.
It helps to facilitate the utilization of the I2C bus.

9
3.1.2 Ultrasonic Sensor:
As Ultrasonic sensor, HC-SR04 has been used in this system for obstacle detection.
This device uses sonar to detect obstacle and determine the distance to an object.
It can detect from 2cm to 400cm and the accuracy is approximately around 0.3cm,
which is good for most prototype[1]. It could emits ultrasound which travels through
the air.

Figure 3.2: Ultrasonic Sensor that has been used for obstacle detection

This electronic device measures the distance of an object which is the target object
by emitting ultrasonic sound waves of 40,000Hz (40kHz). If there is any obstacle
on its traveling way through the air, it will be bounced back to the module and
converts the reflected sound into an electrical signal. The distance can be calculated
considering travel time and speed of the sound.Usually, Ultrasonic waves travel very
fast. It is faster than the speed of audible sound. There are two main components
of this device. 1)The transmitter - emits the sound through piezoelectric crystals
2) The receiver- encounters the sound after it has traveled from the target.The
distance between the sensor and the object should be measured by calculating the
time between the emissions of the sound by the transmitter to its contact with the
receiver. The formula for this calculation is D = ½ T x C (where, D=the distance,
T=the time, and C=the speed of sound 343 meters/second)[20].

Feature of HC-SR04: The features of HC-SR04 are mentioned bellow-

ˆ Operating Voltage :5V

ˆ Quiescent Current : <l2mA

ˆ Operating Current: 15mA

ˆ Effective Measuring Angle: <15°

ˆ Detection range : 2cm – 400 cm

ˆ Resolution : 0.3 mm

10
 Figure 3.3: How does ultrasonic sensor work

ˆ Dimension: 45mm x 20mm x 15mm

The configuration of HC-SR04 Pinout is-

1. VCC

2. TRIG

3. ECHO

4. GND
This device can be used in various purpose like medical ultrasonography, humidifiers,
wireless charging, depth measurement,burglar alarm etc. In this project, ultrasonic
sensor is connected to the Arduino UNO .If any obstacle is close enough and less
than 50 cm, buzzer will let the blind or visually impaired know that there is obstacle
ahead.

3.1.3 Water Sensor:

The water sensor is designed and used to detect the presence of water on the surface.
This sensor is widely used in detection of rainfall, water level and even liquid leakage.
It is also applicable for detection of the presence of water, the volume of water, the
level of water etc.

How does it work: There is a Power LED on the sensor. The LED will light
up when the sensor is powered ON.There is an array of ten exposed copper traces
on the sensor.This array of exposed parallel conductors act together as a variable
resistor which is similar to a potentiometer and its resistance changes according to
the level of water. These traces are not connected with each other rather the traces
are interlaced between each other. Among them five are sense traces and five are
power traces. Therefore, between every two power traces there is one sense trace.
However, when they are submerged in water, they are bridged by water. These

11
 Figure 3.4: Water Sensor

traces having a weak pull-up resistor is 1MΩ. While a drop of water shorts the
sense trace to the power trace, then the resistor will pull the sensor trace value
low. The height of the water is inversely proportional to the resistance of sensor.
If the sensor is immersed in more water, results is better conductivity and this will
result a resistance is lower.On the other hand, If the the sensor is immersed in less
water,then it will result poor conductivity and resistance is higher[21].
However, There is a common issue of the sensor. The sensor has got a short lifespan
while it is exposed to a moist in the environment. Constantly powering the probe
rush the rate of corrosion significantly. Therefore, to overcome this problem, it
should be powered only when the reading is being taken.
In this project when the water is detected, the buzzer will buzz and make sound.
Therefore, the user of the stick will be able to know that there is water or puddle
in front of him.

3.1.4 Buzzer:
In this project, three piezo buzzers have been used. One buzzer is the output of
ultrasonic sensor, second one is the output of water sensor and the third sensor
is for IR remote receiver system. An electric buzzer is basically a beeper with
audio signaling. The frequency of the sound it produces is around 1KHz to 7KHz .
However, at this range for frequency the hearing threshold of buzzer is maximum.
Even in a highly noisy environment the sound of the buzzer is noticeable. It might
be used in electric doorbells, alarm clock, and keypad feedback or sometimes in
games etc.

12
Types of buzzer
There are different types of buzzer. like-

ˆ Piezoelectric buzzer

ˆ Magnetic buzzer

ˆ Electromagnetic buzzer

ˆ Mechanical buzzer

ˆ Electromechanical Buzzer

Figure 3.5: Piezo Buzzer and its Working Principal

Working principles: The core of the Piezoelectric buzzer is the piezoelectric ef-
fect. The main component is piezoelectric element in this buzzer. It is composed
of two types of element. One is piezoelectric ceramic and another element is metal
plate. The metal plate and piezoelectric disc are held together. When an alternating
current passes through this device, the piezoelectric material will shrink and expand.
It will produce a vibration which will cause creating sound waves that is shown in
the diagram.

3.1.5 IR remote control (Infrared remote control) and Re-

ceiver:
IR remote control and receiver has been used to find out the stick when it get mis-
placed. IR communication is very common in wireless communication. It is also
inexpensive and convenient to use. The wavelength of the IR light is longer than
the visible light. Therefore, It is out of human vision range. Thus, it is a good
option to use this technology in this project for wireless communication.

13
 Figure 3.6: IR remote and Receiver

Working principle: IR radiation is simply light that can not be seen by human
beings which makes it more suitable for communication. For example when we use
television remote for transmitting information to the television, IR LED is applied.
Modulated signal is used for this purpose. The IR receiver pick out the ambient IR
signal using this method. Modulating a signal is similar to assign a pattern to the
data.Therefore, the receiver will be able to listen and understand.

38 KHz modulation scheme is used for IR communication. Though it is very com-

mon, however other frequency can be applied as well. Small Number of natural
sources posses the regularity of frequency 38KHz. Therefore, the transmitter send-
ing data at 38 KHz frequency will be standing out among all the ambient Infrared.
When a specific button of the remote is pressed,the IR light pulses create a unique
pattern for that specific button and the IR LED will start transmitting. For a frac-
tion of a second, it will quickly blink and encoded data will be transmitting and
sending out to the appliance a modulated infrared signal. That unique pattern will
be recognized by the receiver . The command will be executed after the signal is
demodulated.

14
 Figure 3.7: The conceptual view of how an IR transmitter receiver pair works

The signal is similar to the one in the picture above using oscilloscope. The receiver
will see the modulated signal exactly as the above. The receiver will demodulate the
signal. The output is a binary waveform. The binary waveform will be read by the
microcontroller. In a microcontroller the binary waveform is read by an input pin
and it is decoded as serial bit stream controlling the spacing between the modulated
signal.

3.1.6 Push Button:

A push button is a type of switch that use simple air switch mechanism or a electric
mechanism. It will trun something ON or OFF applying this mechanism. When it
is pressed in a circuit, it only connects two points in that circuit. They could be
operated depending on the model with the function momentary or latching action.

Push button has been used in this project for emergency communication. If the
blind person needs help he can press the push button which will communicate with
a selected person through IOT. When the button will be pressed an SMS will be
sent to the saved numbers inside the microcontroller and thus the caregiver of the

15
 Figure 3.8: Push Button

person can be notified that the person is in an emergency situation and as well as
get the location of the person.

3.1.7 SIM 808 Module:

This smart stick supports to detect the current location of a blind person by their
fellowships. It has an ultimate importance to know about the current position or
location of a visually challenged person for their caregiver in case the visually chal-
lenged person is lost. In order to solve this challenge SIM808 GPS GSM GPRS shield
has been used which is IOT Solution based. It is also suitable for IOT projects such
as smart-home, outdoor monitoring, shared bicycle, etc.

This module is a Quad Band GSM/GPRS module that is combined with GPS
technology. It is very much useful for satellite navigation. It is integrated with
GPRS and GPS in a SMT (Surface Mount Technology) package. For developing
GPS enabled applications, this module is helpful and will save time as well as cost
significantly. It features a standard interface. At any location it allows to track
seamlessly with signal coverage in anytime. A powerful GSM cellular module with
integrated GPS is at the heart[22].

This module provides 68 SMT pads. Therefore, interfaces between the module and
Arduino Uno can be established easily [22].

Features:

ˆ It supports 4*4keypads by default

ˆ There is a single full modem serial port (UART interface).

ˆ It has Audio channels. It is included with a microphone input and a receiver

output.

ˆ There is SIM card interface.

ˆ Charging interface.

ˆ There is Programmable general purpose input and output (GPIO).

16
 Figure 3.9: GPS GSM GPRS SIM808 Module and pin diagram

ˆ It supports Bluetooth function.

ˆ It has GPS function.

ˆ There are two ADCs and two PWMs.

ˆ PCM/SPI interface.

Interface function: SIM808 Connectors:

ˆ Headset jack-There is TRRS 3.5mm of phone headset jack in this device which
is a standard. It also includes mono microphone and stereo earphone. Android
and IPhone is compatible for this however iPhone original is excluded.

ˆ GSM and GPS connector-It is GSM and GPS Antenna connector.When GPS
reading is required, an antenna is needed to be used connected in the SIM808
shield for more accurate data.

ˆ SIM Connector: It is necessary to use a Mini SIM card in this module to run.

ˆ Battery holder(VRTC)r: For RTC this is the Power supply.

SIM 808 LEDs :

1. PWR –This is the Power light.

2. 1PPS – This is called ’pulse per second’ which is the output of GPS.

3. Status – When the module is being booted and running then status of Power
will lit.

17
 4. NetLight – It is Network status. Without sending an AT command the current
state can be checked with this.

5. 64ms on, 800ms off - This means the module is running however it is not
connected to the cellular network yet.

6. 64ms on,3 seconds off - It means the device is able to make contact with the
cellular network and also it is able to send/receive SMS along with voice.

7. 64ms on, 300ms off - It means that the requested GPRS data connection is
active.

Usage of PIN on Arduino:

D0 – Hardware serial port is selected for communication with SIM808.
D1 - Hardware serial port is selected for communication with SIM808.
D7 - Software serial port is selected for communication with SIM808.
D8 - Software serial port is selected for communication with SIM808.
D9 - Software control to Power ON or OFF of the module SIM808.

Hardware installation: This shield is unable do anything on its own.A micro-

controller is required to drive this module. Some accessories is necessary to make
SIM808 shield work as well.

ˆ GSM and GPS antenna should be attached.

ˆ A mini SIM card should be inserted into the sim slot. GPS is unable to operate
without SIM card.

ˆ When it is necessary to make a call,the headset should be connected to the

headset jack.

ˆ Arduino needs to be plugged in or the USB should be connected to the PC.

ˆ Turning the power on of the device by the POWER KEY.

Specification:

ˆ Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz

ˆ Standard Operating voltage: 5V

ˆ Supply Voltage: 7V to 23V

ˆ Operating environment: -40‰ - +85 ‰

ˆ Support Micro SIM connector

ˆ GPRS multi-slot class 12 connectivity

ˆ GPRS mobile station class B

ˆ Send and receive GPRS data (TCP/IP, HTTP, etc)

18
ˆ Low power consumption: 100mA @ 7V-GSM mode

ˆ Controlled by AT command (3GPP TS 27.007,27.005 and SIMCOM enhanced

AT Commands)

ˆ Support GPS satellite navigation technology

ˆ Size: 69 * 54mm/2.71 * 2.12 inches

ˆ Default baud rate: 115200

19
Chapter 4

Methodology

The Model and overall architecture of this project will be discussed in this chapter.

4.1 Outline of the project

This project mainly has two part- i)hardware part ii) software part. In the hardware
part microcontroller Arduino Uno has been used as the brain of the system. This
IOT based smart stick can detect two types of obstacle- water and solid object.To
detect the solid object ultrasonic sensor has been used. If the obstacle is less than
50 cm which is defined in the code, sensor will detect the object. Then, the buzzer
will turn on. On the other hand to detect any kind of liquid obstacle water sensor
has been used. If obstacle in any liquid for detected, the buzzer will buzz and the
user will be informed that way. SIM808 module has been used to track the blind or
visually impaired person and provide the information of the person to his care giver
through SMS. If the blind person is in danger he can also communicate with his care
giver. He should press the push button of the stick and a notification will be sent to
his care giver including his current location through SMS. Remote system has also
been used to help to find the stick in case it get misplaced. For this purpose, IR
remote and receiver have been used. All the above functionalities mainly controlled
by microcontroller. The software part is controlled by using programming and Ar-
duino Integrated Development (IDE) is used.

The modules that have been used in this system are as follows-

ˆ Arduino UNO

ˆ Ultrasonic sensor

ˆ Water sensor

ˆ SIM808 Module

ˆ Switch

ˆ Buzzer

ˆ Speaker

20
 ˆ IR Remote and receiver

BLOCK DIAGRAM:

Figure 4.1: Block Diagram of the system

4.2 Flow Chart of the proposed system:

The flow chart of the system demonstrate the way that the proposed system will
work. The ultrasonic sensor will recognize the obstacle up to 50cm using ultrasonic
wave. Then the Arduino Uno process the data and determine whether the obstacle
is close enough. If the obstacle is close enough buzzer 1 will be turned on. If it is
more than 50cm away, nothing will happen. If the water sensor detect any liquid,
it sends data to Arduino uno and it will process data and will turn on the buzzer
2 of the system. If the button of the IR remote is pressed, the receiver will receive
the signal upto distance 2.2 metre and the 3rd buzzer will turn on. It will turned
off after pressing the remote. However, this will not work from every angle. The
location can be traced by sending sms to the GSM module or sms can be sent to
a number from the Arduino Uno which will be mentioned in the code containing
the latitude and longitude. While sim808 module that is a high performance GSM
GPRS chip integrated with GPS engine is turned on, it will be initialized within 2
to 3 minutes. It will get the GPS signal with UART interface. Then it will report
the related GPS into to microcontroller. A sim card has been inserted into the GSM
module, when this sim card gets sms, microcontroller will text back with the latitude

21
and longitude information of the location of the module. Arduino Uno pushes data
via HTTP.

22
Figure 4.2: Flow Chart of the system

23
Chapter 5

Implementation

5.1 Software Implementation:

Program has been written using Arduino Integrated Development Environment
(IDE). IT can be connected to the Arduino and hardware easily to upload pro-
grams and communicate with them. There are two .ino file. Code for running
Water sensor, Ultrasonic sensor, IR remote control and sensor has been written in
one .ino file. For GPS system .ino file is separate. First one is uploaded to one
microcontroller and the second sketch is uploaded to the microcontroller that is
connected with sim808 module. To control water sensor water() function has been
used. when the digitalRead pin() is low, the output will be low. If the sensor de-
tects water, digitalRead() pin goes HIGH. As a result, the buzzer will buzz. To
control ultrasonic sensor, sound() function has been made.In that function distance
will be calculated by (duration/2)/29.1 in centimeter as unit. The value of the vari-
able ”duration” is taken from echo pin. Then an condition has been applied using
IF,Else condition statement. if the distance is between 1cm-50cm, the digitalWrite
pin mode will be HIGH else it will be low. Remote() funtion is in the code for IR
remote and receiver. All the button of the remote has a specific HEX value. It will
be decoded when received.For example, buzzer will turn on if ”1” is pressed on the
remote and if ”2” is pressed the buzzer will turn of. Therefore, It will receive the
signal from remote and decode it by (irrecv.decode(&results).For ”1” HEX value is
0xFF629D. When ”result.value=0xFF629D”, the digitalWrite() pin will go HIGH.
There is loop() function that will read GPS data. SIM808 module will fetch GPS
data in degree, minute and second. This function will calculate the latitude and
longitude from degree,minute and second. When the push button will be pressed,
the digitalRead() pin will go HIGH and an sms will be sent to the phone number
saved in the code containing latitude and longitude.gps()function is used to detect
unread sms.

24
 Figure 5.1: Converting degree,minutes and second to latitude and longitude

5.2 Hardware Implementation:

The basic frame of the project where all the component is placed is a UPVC pipe.
It is one of the most famous polymer pipe. Two Arduino Uno microcontroller have
been used in this project. IR remote and receiver, ultrasonic sensor and water sensor
is attached to one Arduino Uno. On the other hand another Arduino Uno has been
attached with GPS GSM GPRS SIM808 MODULE and with a push button that is
used as emergency button. The system is wired with jumper cables.

Figure 5.2: Circuit Diagram for obstacle detection and IR remote receiver

ˆ The water sensor was set to the bottom of the stick. The water sensor has been

25
 placed bellow the ultrasonic sensor and the receiver of IR remote sensor on
the stick. Therefore the prototype should be handled very carefully otherwise
circuit could be damaged. The prototype can be damaged by high level of
water or rough surface.There are three terminals of water sensor- S, Vout and
GND. Vout and GND is connected to +5V and GND of the Arduino board.
S is connected to Digital pin number 6. Digital pin 9 is the output for water
sensor where a buzzer is attached. When power is given, the power LED of
the sensor will on,after that it will start to work. If the LED does not flash,
that means there is any problem that is needed to be fixed.

ˆ Ultrasonic sensor has been placed at 12.5cm height from the ground level just
above the water sensor. The ultrasonic sensor has four pins. The GND pin is
attached to 0v/GND and Vcc pin to 5V of Arduino. Trig pin is connected to
the Arduino digital pin 3 and the Echo pin is connected to the Arduino digital
pin 2. The output pin is attached to the digital pin 10. Output is connected
to Buzzer.

ˆ The receiver of the IR sensor has been set just above the ultrasonic sensor.
Input of the IR remote receiver id connected to the digital pin number 5 and
pin number 11 is the output of the IR remote receiver. Output is connected
to a buzzer.

ˆ Microcontroller ATmega328 along with the bread board is placed between the
power supply and IR sensor receiver. This microcontroller is connected to
water sensor, ultrasonic sensor, IR sensor receiver. Two 9v batteries have
been used for power supply of the two microcontrollers.

ˆ Sim808 module along with another ATmega328 has been placed on the top of
the stick. sim808 has been interfaced with this ATmega328. Digital pin num-
ber 7, 8 is the transmitter and receiver respectively. An antenna is attached
to the GPS connector for GPS signal and data.One mini sim card has been
installed to the sim slot. Push button is connected to digital pin number 5
of 2nd Arduino Uno board where SIM808 module is attached.Then the USB
is connected the PC and boot the device turning on the power button.Then I
have waited some time while see the blinking light of status led. After that the
code has been uploaded to the microcontroller. When the code has successfully
loaded the usb can be disconnected.

26
 Figure 5.3: Interfacing ATmega328 with SIM808 module

Finally, after integrating and placing all the components, Working model of the
prototype is as follows-

27
 Figure 5.4: Circuit for obstacle detection, water detection and IR receiver

Figure 5.5: SIM808 module along with emergency push button is connected with
ATmega328.

28
Figure 5.6: Working model of the prototype.

29
Chapter 6

Result And Discussion

6.1 Distance measurement test result:

The prototype of the smart stick has been implemented and the afterward effects
have been discussed in this section. The outcome has been tried and the result are
charted. The experiments were done both in indoor and outdoor.

Ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04 which is a standard does 1cm-50cm non-contact mea-

surement here. Ultrasonic sensor has some drawbacks like-

1. It is very sensitive to variation in the temperature, airborne particles, weight,

air turbulence.

2. Odd Formations will cause alignment issues for example small or curved object,
rough surfaces etc. For the curved object a scanner having wheel-probe might
be an excellent option. However, if the scanner is unable to read the second
part of axes it could cause misalignment problem .

3. For probing test item surface needs to be accessible.Throughout the object for
facilitating sound transfer in the surface coupling liquids needs to be applied.

4. Composition of the material is very important. Waves is unable to penetrate

grainy materials or cast iron and which leads sound transmission to be dimin-
ished. For example,Attenuation can be caused by the larger grain that is found
in austenitic steel and that causes to cover defects during ultrasonic testing.

30
The following table shows result of the accuracy test for distance measurement of
different heights of the obstacle.

Distance Readings Error

10cm no detection 0
20cm 16.5cm 3.5
30cm 22cm 8
40cm 37cm 3
50cm 44cm 6

Table 6.1: Distance measurement test result when obstcle height is 10cm

Distance Readings Error

10cm 7cm 3
20cm 14cm 6
30cm 21cm 9
40cm 31cm 9
50cm 41cm 9

Table 6.2: Distance measurement test result when obstcle height is 15cm

Distance Readings Error

10cm 9cm 3
20cm 16cm 4
30cm 27cm 3
40cm 36cm 4
50cm 41cm 9

Table 6.3: Distance measurement test result when obstcle height is 22cm

Average error is 13.6%, 24% and 14% respectively. Height, width, material, shape
of the obstacles used are different. The graph between actual and detected distance
for obstacle with height 10cm, 15cm and 22cm is given bellow-

31
Figure 6.1: Graph between actual and detected distance for obstacle height 10cm

Figure 6.2: Graph between actual and detected distance for obstacle height 15cm

32
Figure 6.3: Graph between actual and detected distance for obstacle height 22cm

Figure 6.4: Detected value of the sensor changes slightly while height of the obstacle
changes

33
6.2 Water detection test result:
The test for water sensor has been performed. Various types of liquid has been
used for this experiments. In the presence of water,the sensor has reacted. There
are some limitations of water sensor. Sometimes at the presence of water it is too
sensitive. Therefore until the sensor is dry or no longer could detect presence of
water the buzzer could sounds and it might be sometimes little longer.The following
table shows the result of the test for water sensor for different types of liquid-

Liquid No. of test Result

Water 5 100%
Liquid soap 5 100%
Oil 5 0%
Urine 5 100%
70% alchohol+30% chlorhexibine gluconate 5 100%

Table 6.4: Water Sensor test result

6.3 GPS tracking test result:

SIM808 tracker get the GPS signal with UART interface, get the current location
information and then the related GPS will be reported into to Atmega328. However,
output of the result is greatly dependent on the network. The experiment has been
done in indoor as well as outdoor. Data that is found in outdoor is more accurate
than the data that is found in indoor.
Here, SIM808 get the sms from care giver, process this, report related GPS contain-
ing latitude and longitude to the ATmega328.Then the microcontroller push sms
back to that number.

34
Figure 6.5: Terminal window displaying after sending sms to track location

Figure 6.6: SMS containing location of the visually impaired individual

35
6.4 IR system test result:
For IR system, the type of remote that has been used will be automatically decoded
by the sketch and which button of the remote is pressed will be identified. Opening
the serial monitor in the Arduino IDE at 9600 bps and hit the “ch” or “1” button
of the remote, the buzzer will turn on. There is different codes for different buttons.
Specific button is to programmed as for turning on and off.

Figure 6.7: Snapshot of the code for IR remote and receiver function

36
Figure 6.8: Terminal window displaying after pressing the ”on” button of the remote

The way IR remote control system evaluated is by placing the prototype in one place
and then pressing the remote control from different distance. Pressing the remote
control and going as far as possible and observing the sound of the buzzer to observe
the range of the IR remote system. The maximum range here is 2.2 meters.

37
Chapter 7

Conclusion

There are two primary objectives of the project, first one is to enhance the mobile
capability and second one is to inform the known person through the message if
the person is in danger zone. In this project, the hardware and software had been
successfully integrated and worked to meet the requirements. The prototype of a
smart walking stick is built and the function meets the objectives of this project.
By implementing this, a visually impaired person can move to an unfamiliar envi-
ronment without any human guidance. It is suitable for the blind person to travel
in the unknown environment more independently. This stick is also beneficial for
the elderly with their poor vision.

Compared to the existing white blind stick or guided dog this stick is more con-
venient and as low cost and less weight proves to be a great luminance with its
augmented features to the visually impaired person. In future, Image processing or
artificial intelligence could be added to the system for more comfort including voice
command or find the best path for his destination.

38
Bibliography

[1] S. Murali, R. Shrivatsan, V. Sreenivas, S. Vijjappu, S. J. Gladwin, and R. Ra-

javel, “Smart walking cane for the visually challenged,” in 2016 IEEE Region
10 Humanitarian Technology Conference (R10-HTC), IEEE, 2016, pp. 1–4.
[2] E. SathyaNarayanan, B. Nithin, P. Vidhyasagar, et al., “Iot based smart walk-
ing cane for typhlotic with voice assistance,” in 2016 Online International
Conference on Green Engineering and Technologies (IC-GET), IEEE, 2016,
pp. 1–6.
[3] P. Sudha et al., “Smart navigation system for visually challenged people,”
2016.
[4] D. E. Gbenga, A. I. Shani, and A. L. Adekunle, “Smart walking stick for
visually impaired people using ultrasonic sensors and arduino,” International
Journal of Engineering and Technology, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 3435–3447, 2017.
[5] R. F. Olanrewaju, M. L. A. M. Radzi, and M. Rehab, “Iwalk: Intelligent walk-
ing stick for visually impaired subjects,” in 2017 IEEE 4th International Con-
ference on Smart Instrumentation, Measurement and Application (ICSIMA),
IEEE, 2017, pp. 1–4.
[6] W. H. Organization et al., “Vision impairment and blindness,” Fact Sheet.[Online].
Available: http://www. who. int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/.[Accessed:
17-Feb-2017], 2017.
[7] T. R. Fricke, N. Tahhan, S. Resnikoff, et al., “Global prevalence of presbyopia
and vision impairment from uncorrected presbyopia: Systematic review, meta-
analysis, and modelling,” Ophthalmology, vol. 125, no. 10, pp. 1492–1499, 2018.
[8] S. Mohapatra, S. Rout, V. Tripathi, T. Saxena, and Y. Karuna, “Smart walk-
ing stick for blind integrated with sos navigation system,” in 2018 2nd Inter-
national Conference on Trends in Electronics and Informatics (ICOEI), IEEE,
2018, pp. 441–447.
[9] H. Sharma, M. Tripathi, A. Kumar, and M. S. Gaur, “Embedded assistive
stick for visually impaired persons,” in 2018 9th International Conference on
Computing, Communication and Networking Technologies (ICCCNT), IEEE,
2018, pp. 1–6.
[10] Z. M. Yusof, M. M. Billah, K. Kadir, et al., “Design and analysis of a smart
blind stick for visual impairment,” Indonesian Journal of Electrical Engineer-
ing and Computer Science, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 848–856, 2018.

39
[11] L.-B. Chen, J.-P. Su, M.-C. Chen, W.-J. Chang, C.-H. Yang, and C.-Y. Sie,
“An implementation of an intelligent assistance system for visually impaired/blind
people,” in 2019 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics
(ICCE), IEEE, 2019, pp. 1–2.
[12] I. A. Satam, M. N. Al-Hamadani, A. H. Ahmed, et al., “Design and implement
smart blind stick,” Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control
Systems, vol. 11, no. 8, pp. 42–47, 2019.
[13] M. Adil, T. Rafa, J. Ferdoush, A. Mahmud, and A. Pathak, “An iot based
voice controlled blind stick to guide blind people,” 2020.
[14] N. Loganathan, K. Lakshmi, N. Chandrasekaran, S. Cibisakaravarthi, R. H.
Priyanga, and K. H. Varthini, “Smart stick for blind people,” in 2020 6th In-
ternational Conference on Advanced Computing and Communication Systems
(ICACCS), IEEE, 2020, pp. 65–67.
[15] A. Romadhon and A. Husein, “Smart stick for the blind using arduino,”
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, IOP Publishing, vol. 1569, 2020,
p. 032 088.
[16] M. M. Shah, M. N. R. Khan, M. R. A. Khan, M. M. H. Plabon, and M. A.
Razzak, “A cost-effective smart walking stick for visually impaired people,” in
2021 6th International Conference on Communication and Electronics Systems
(ICCES), IEEE, 2021, pp. 1582–1585.
[17] J. D. Steinmetz, R. R. Bourne, P. S. Briant, et al., “Causes of blindness and
vision impairment in 2020 and trends over 30 years, and prevalence of avoidable
blindness in relation to vision 2020: The right to sight: An analysis for the
global burden of disease study,” The Lancet Global Health, vol. 9, no. 2, e144–
e160, 2021.
[18] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White cane.
[19] https://www.tutorialspoint.com/arduino/.
[20] https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/abdularbi17/ultrasonic-sensor-hc-sr04-
with-arduino-tutorial-327ff6.
[21] https : / / create . arduino . cc / projecthub / omer - beden / basic - water - sensor -
190c7a.
[22] https : / / cdn - shop . adafruit . com / product - files / 2637 / SIM808 Hardware +
Design V1.02.pdf.

40