Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

This paper introduces a walker with ETA (Electrical Travel Aid) system that assists visually impaired people who have weakened lower body muscle because of disability, disease and aging in walking. The ETA consists of ultrasonic sensors, two vibrators, speaker and MCU. The ultrasonic sensors detect obstacles on the front, left and right side of the walker and the MCU analyzes the sensors signal, decides the locations of obstacles and sends the information of obstacles to the user with voice sound and vibration to prevent him/her from running into it. Therefore, the user of the system can exercise to walk safely. We have fabricated the designed walker and carried out some experiments of walking training. The results showed that the designed system demonstrated good performances and it was verified that the system could give very effective assistances to the visually impaired people or aging people who want walking practice.
Keywords: Disability, ETA System, Smart Walkers, Walker for the Visually Impaired