8YO Girl Created A Smart Walking Stick To Save The Blind From Falling And Going In Wrong Directions

It goes without saying that people with blindness face many difficulties in life. Along with the development of technology, the blind is getting more help to make their lives easier, but this 8-year-old girl is giving some more help with her creation.

Living in Britain, Indian-origin Mihika Sharma has created a walking stick, which earned her the BT Young Pioneer Award 2019 with a Rs 4.6 Lakh worth of equipment that she can choose herself, along with experts that will help her continue the project.

At the age of 5, which was in 2016, the young creator was helping a blind woman cross the street. However, she forgot to tell the lady there was a step in front of her and the lady almost tripped and fell. After the incident, the little girl wanted to do more to help the blind.

That year, she began her work on the Smart Stick with Arnav, her brother, who was nine at the time. The 9-year-old brother also had an interest in technology and worked with electronics and sensors, and the two decided to create a smart tick for blind people.

The girl and her brother made the original design three years ago, but they have now perfected the stick with a bunch of technologies, making a better version out of the initial one. There two ultrasonic sensors on the walking stick for detecting obstacles, along with water sensors for detecting water puddles.

When users come across these types of obstacles, the stick will alert them using a vibrating motor. In addition, it helps navigate the user from a location to their destination. There is a pair of vibration motor on the handle, one of the right and one on the left. The motor will vibrate corresponding with the direction that the user goes.

Besides, the walking stick comes with built-in Bluetooth and GPS, its Bluetooth will pair with the user’s smartphone to make it easier for them to navigate.

The smart walking stick is 3D-printed, meaning it can be customized to suit the body structure of the user as well as their aesthetic preference. The user can also install a camera on the stick with Raspberry Pi. The Smart Stick also houses LEDs that light up in the dark.

The girl, after winning the award, said: