it uses a LilyPad Arduino circuit board & vibrators
Here's the story of another Indian Inventor - Anirudh Sharma, 24, a young researcher at Hewlett-Packard Labs in Bangalore
Traditionally the Blind have used the WhiteCane to assist them in their outdoor movement. But Anirudh believes that technology would make things far easier. He has designed a Haptic Shoe For The Blind "Le Chal" which is a Hindi translation of “Take Me There”, using low-cost readily available components .
All that the user requires is a Le Chal shoe and a mobile phone with global positioning system (GPS).
Once the user sets a destination on the phone before starting the journey, the Bluetooth communication between the shoe and phone does the rest.
As soon as the user starts his or her journey, the GPS transmitter within the cellphone gets real-time location using Google Maps. The built-in compass in the GPS module calculates the direction user is walking in. The basic idea behind Le Chal is that one of the user's shoes will provide haptic feedback, guiding the user toward their destination by vibrating in the front, back, or on either side - a vibration on the front indicates that they should keep going straight, a vibration on the left side means that they should turn left, and so on.
The strength of the vibration depends upon the overall proximity from the destination, that is, vibration is weak in the beginning and is incrementally stronger at the end of the navigation task. The built-in proximity sensor of the shoe can detect up to 10 feet, informing the user of the surroundings and allowing him or her to make decisions and plan the next move.
Traditionally the Blind have used the WhiteCane to assist them in their outdoor movement. But Anirudh believes that technology would make things far easier. He has designed a Haptic Shoe For The Blind "Le Chal" which is a Hindi translation of “Take Me There”, using low-cost readily available components .
All that the user requires is a Le Chal shoe and a mobile phone with global positioning system (GPS).
Once the user sets a destination on the phone before starting the journey, the Bluetooth communication between the shoe and phone does the rest.
As soon as the user starts his or her journey, the GPS transmitter within the cellphone gets real-time location using Google Maps. The built-in compass in the GPS module calculates the direction user is walking in. The basic idea behind Le Chal is that one of the user's shoes will provide haptic feedback, guiding the user toward their destination by vibrating in the front, back, or on either side - a vibration on the front indicates that they should keep going straight, a vibration on the left side means that they should turn left, and so on.
The strength of the vibration depends upon the overall proximity from the destination, that is, vibration is weak in the beginning and is incrementally stronger at the end of the navigation task. The built-in proximity sensor of the shoe can detect up to 10 feet, informing the user of the surroundings and allowing him or her to make decisions and plan the next move.
Sharma is planning to release the code of Le Chal Android application and schematics to public through Arduino community channel. He is also planning to create a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) guide through an editable Wikipedia where users can participate and help him create better version of the technology. He is also exploring the idea of how the commutation data of multiple users could decrease the overall time.