Navigation Aid for the Blind P12015 Faculty Guide: Dr. DeBartolo Clientele: Blind and hard of hearing individuals Team Members: (from left) Project Description: Navigating unfamiliar buildings can be difficult for a vision/hearing-impaired individual. While room numbers are usually in Braille only about ten percent of blind individuals read Braille. Additionally, floor maps are usually not in relief and thus impossible for the blind to read. The purpose of this project was to develop a handheld navigation system for vision/hearing-impaired individuals. The device uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to calculate positions and the quickest routes to destinations. Project Requirements: Charge in less than 8 hours Interchangeable battery Commands to user must be non-visual Device generates less than 50 dB noise Attachment time less than one minute Impact resistant Lightweight Hands free Reliable Bob Evans Electrical Engineer David Sachenik Jackson Lamp Computer Engineer David Yip Ben Davidson Mechanical Engineer Rob Steigerwald Industrial Systems Engineer Konrad Ahlin Electrical Design Central Processing Unit MSP430F5438A Microcontroller Determines Heading of User LSM303DLH Magnetometer Determines Location of User SkyeTek SkyeModule M9 RFID Reader Power Source Polymer Lithium Ion Battery – 1000mAh RFID Reader Antenna HyperLink Wireless 8 dBi Flat Patch Antenna User Input Device 3x4 Numerical Matrix Keypad Defines Locations Within Building Alien-Higgs Passive RFID Tags 840-960MHz Provides Feedback to User Precision Microdrives 10mm Vibration Motors 400mA PCB Design Layout Software Design Two Step Navigation Process: Path Finding and Path Following Path finding algorithm is an implementation on Dijkstra’s algorithm Path following algorithm interprets the data found from the path finding algorithm to guide the user to their destination. Management of Peripheral Devices: Custom Interface for Keypad SPI Interface for RFID Reader I2C Interface for Magnetometer PWM Output for Vibration Motors Mechanical Design Main Case: Slide allows for easy battery access Top cover holds keypad in place Main body holds PCB, RFID reader, and battery in place Motor Cases: Transmits vibrations Allows offset mass to rotate Belt Enclosure: Ergonomically designed Properly secures components This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. BES-0527358. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.