Bayan Mohammed Mashat
Dar AlTarbiah AlHadiatha Schools, Jeddah, SAUDI ARABIA
The research problem is the addressed the difficulty of mobility for deaf-blind individuals because of their audio and visual disability. The research aims to develop a device that is placed on the knee of the deaf-blind person. The researcher assumed that using Knee Eye Device (KED) assists in altering deaf-blind when facing high and horizontally-positioned obstacles and holes because the ultrasonic technology is the best available to implement the solution. Also it is assumed that the KED alerts the individuals through vibration at appropriate distance for advance warning purposes.
The tools used are a micro-controller unit (NXT), ultrasonic sensors, LEGO motors, NXT-G program, cables and LEGO bricks. First the range of sensor`s view has been tested to choose the best sensor orientation. Then the distance between the sensor and obstacles has been tested and adjusted to select the appropriate distance for warning. The variables affecting the experiment are obstacles` height, obstacles` distance, step length, walking speed, and individual`s height.
Results were that the top and middle sensors will be placed vertically and the bottom sensor will be placed horizontally. The best distance to warn an individual about an obstacle is 110-120cm. the experiment indicated that the device can detect objects which are positioned horizontally, objects above the knee level and hoes. Also, KED generated vibrations with different intensity according to the obstacles distance.
KED assists in meeting the individual needs for the deaf-blind in identifying people and objects, navigation and data recording.