Deaf individuals find challenges in day-to-day task that many of us are unaware of. This includes driving, communicating with family and friends, waking up in the morning, answering the door, attending school, and finding a job.
Driving has been an especially controversial issue. There is obvious discomfort that comes along with deaf drivers. In 2006 UPS attempted to ban deaf drivers from employment, but the case was dismissed. At least 26 countries have banned the deaf from driving.
Furthermore, there have been a number of solutions designed as alarm clocks for the deaf. Mostly alarms that turn on the lights to awake the user.
However, we believe the best solution is to design a product that helps deaf interact with the world, rather than designing a world of products that interact with the deaf.
We are hoping to assist the deaf in becoming independent and self-reliant individuals. Leveraging sound senors and vibration motors in conjunction with the Arduino, we are going to implement wearable technology that will help the deaf rediscover the world around them. The device, a necklace, harnesses five sound senors directed around the periphery of the user will react to differentials in sound amplitude. Five vibration motors around located along the necklace will vibrate according to the direction and amplitude of the sound differentials.
Sensors
Sound Sensor
Actuators
Vibration Motor
Guys, I'd love to see more specific sensors on this. It's a really interesting concept, but I'm not 100% sure what sounds you are monitoring (frequency, amplitude, other characteristics?). Without this information, it's tought to pick a particular sensor, and vice-versa (if you picked the sensor, you would know what kind of sound you could detect. Also, directionality is a challenge, and I would like to see some more information about how you plan to make these sensors directional.
ReplyDelete