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Team Status Report 2/15

Risks:

Only risk would be if the software libraries we choose are not compatible with all of our devices.

Changes:

No changes in the plan yet. We plan on starting the initialization of our technical devices this week.

 

A was written by Cynthia, B was written by Maya, and C was written by Kaya.

A: With regards to public health, CurbAlert can improve the mental well-being of our users by increasing their confidence and independence with navigation, along with reducing the stress related to mobility challenges when both support and a white cane is needed.  The safety of our disabled users will also be improved with CurbAlert, since its main purpose is to prevent falls and collisions by detection obstacles and providing feedback with enough time to take action.  So, the product will both provide support to help keep injured or elderly individuals from falling and warning and feedback to prevent collisions and other injuries with objects, walls, or stairs.  By being a practical, everyday tool that provides independence and accessibility, our project improves overall welfare, ensuring that individuals with mobility impairments can navigate more freely and safely.

B: Our inspiration for this project was a family friend of mine that was recently injured, and has to walk with a walking cane, but also has to walk with a blind cane. She was expressing to me how difficult it was for her to live a normal life because she can’t get around very well at all. After talking to my group about this project, I decided to call and get her opinion on possible design choices and what the most important features were for her. She said she wants the ability to navigate safely in unfamiliar environments without feeling overwhelmed or dependent on others for guidance. We believe our cane will be a form of advocacy for individuals who feel that they have lost their independence or ability to have any form of social life because of the limitations that 2 canes provide. We also believe that our cane can provide blind people with more workplace accessibility, and more opportunities for employment.

C.  Economically, most of the devices we are using are recycled devices from last semester. These recycled deices include the F515 Camera and the Jetson Nano. After these devices, we chose our cane based off of affordability and usability as we choose the cheapest cane that matches our needs. This will allow us to sell the cane at an affordable price. For production/distribution, we would plan on making these canes in bulk such that we could lower the price of these canes. Our main goal is to have our cane be accessible to people of any income.

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Maya’s Status Report 2/15

Accomplishments:

This week, I worked on our design presentation, and I specifically worked on the Gaant Chart, work distribution, part of the implementation plan, and part of the top-level design. Additionally, I did research on possible power supplies and the requirements of our prototype. I also did research on the haptics items we need, the pressure pad items we need, and how we are going to connect them to the jetson. I put in a purchase request for all of these items.

Progress:

Our project is on schedule, but we want to being making more technical progress, so we will be meeting on Sunday to make more technical progress. This will include initializing our Jetson Nano and familiarizing ourselves with the L515 Camera.

Future deliverables:

In the upcoming week, we will be making our design presentation, and we will also be clearing the Jetson Nano, which we have heard is not straightforward. As long as we work through that, we will hopefully be starting to set up the environment as well and familiarize ourselves with the layout.

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Maya’s Status Report for 2/8

This week I worked on our presentation, specifically the use-case, use-case requirements, and technical challenges sections. During this process, we were able to flush out more specific details including our main testing points and determining what order they will be in. This presentation can be viewed under presentation 1 here. Additionally, I requested and received the LiDAR camera from the inventory, meaning we have the necessary hardware to stay on track.

Currently our progress is on schedule, and I will begin working with the Jetson Nano to get the environment set up and gather my bearings with this new computer. Kaya and I will be working together to learn this new technology since we anticipate some slow initial progress as we learn and set up our environment.

Specific deliverables for next week:

  • Set up Jetson Nano environment and troubleshoot any problems that come up.
  • Creating a log of errors and their solutions or other procedural notes that we will need in the future.
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Website Introduction

Traditional white canes help detect obstacles, while walking canes provide stability, but using both at the same time limits independence. Our project aims to create a smart walking cane that offers both stability and obstacle detection, allowing users to confidently navigate their environment with one hand free. Our cane will integrate a LiDAR sensor and a camera to detect nearby objects, curbs, and elevation changes. A pressure sensor will determine when the cane is in contact with the ground to account for excess user movement. When an object is detected, the system will provide feedback, alerting the user of the obstacles.