Visually impaired can now move easily with SmartCane

Mobility is now going to become easier for visually impaired with the help of SmartCane, a simple electronic device that helps in detecting presence of objects above the knee level and hanging obstacles through sensors.
"While the white cane is reliable enough to warn people of objects on the ground, and even up to knee-height, visually impaired people are often taken by surprise by over-hanging branches, protruding air-conditioners and parked vehicles. The SmartCane detects such obstacles from a safe distance, helping them avoid it, allowing safe, independent and dignified mobility," Professor Rohan Paul, IIT Delhi, who has played a key role in the development of the SmartCane device said here today.

The development of the SmartCane is an example where an academic institution, industry and a non-profit organisation joined hands, supported by an international charity to develop this technology to address challenges faced by the visually impaired, IIT Delhi professor and project Mentor Balakrishnan said.
SmartCane has been developed jointly by the Assistive Technologies Group at IIT Delhi, Phoenix Medical Systems and NGO Saksham Trust, with funding received from the Welcome Trust (UK).
The Xavier's Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC) of St Xavier's College (Mumbai) in association with Saksham Trust and IIT Delhi in conjunction with the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped (NIVH) today distributed SmartCane to 50 students under the ADIP scheme of the Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Bollywood actor and alumnus of St Xaviers' College, Mumbai, Vidya Balan handed over the devices to the students.
"This device will now integrate visually impaired into the mainstream and make them more independent," she said today.