Android-Powered Shoes For Visually Impaired!
by sahab on Jan.17, 2012, under Android
In a path-breaking innovation, an IT engineer from Rajasthan Technical University, Anirudh Sharma, has designed a unique footwear for the visually impaired. The shoes will be connected to an Android device that will help navigate them using Google Maps and the phone’s in-built GPS.
Called Le Chal (‘Take me there’ in Hindi), the new pair of Android-powered shoes offers non-obtrusive navigation for the visually impaired. The bra‌inchild of Anirudh Sharma was showcased at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Media Lab Design and Innovation Workshop 2011.
According to a report by MediaNama, Le Chal comes equipped with vibrators, proximity sensors and a Bluetooth pad which is connected to an Android device. The Android phone then calculates directions and real-time location using Google Maps and the phone’s in-built GPS and compass module.
According to Sharma, voice instructions can be distracting and wearable gear is obtrusive and attracts unnecessary attention. He says that the system has been designed to make it non-obtrusive for the users. The shoes have been tested at a Bengaluru-based blind school.
It works simply like this. For using the shoes, one needs to speak the end location before the start of the journey. The Android app then works on defining the route map, calculating turn by turn directions, which are sent to the shoe wirelessly via Bluetooth, mentions the report.
Then there are different vibrators within the shoes placed at different positions which get activated to offer feedback to the user depending on the turn she/he needs to take. In short, the technology works by turning navigation data into haptic feedback.
It certainly is going to be a major breakthrough in technology, and a boon for the visually impaired around the world.
May 1st, 2012 on 3:47 pm
Does it use the GPS to locate the user? Is the location from the GPS accurate enough to tell which side of the pedestal on which the user is walking ?