The SmartStick is a modular device designed to enhance spatial awareness for individuals with partial vision who rely on mobility aids. It attaches to existing walking canes and crutches, using haptic feedback to help users navigate their environment more effectively. The project aims to develop a cost-effective solution that can be retrofit to existing aids, allowing users to enhance aids they are already comfortable with, without needing to invest in new equipment.
The Target Audience
The target audience for the SmartStick are individuals with both partial vision and a mobility impairment/s. Typically, these characteristics are most commonly found in seniors – with partial vision defined as ‘an impairment where visual acuity is 20/70 or poorer in the better-seeing eye’ (University of Pittsburgh, 2024). Mobility impairments being addressed include conditions such as arthritis or joint pain, where a walking aid is crucial for autonomy (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2022).
Specifically, we have chosen to focus on this niche rather than attempting to create a universal solution for all visually impaired individuals. The SmartStick is not intended as a replacement for existing vision aids (glasses or white canes) nor for individuals who are fully blind – but simply those who require extra assistance within their day-to-day lives.
Project Deliverables & Timelines
This project contains a number of deliverables. Following our Week 6 presentation, we plan to quickly design several device mockups. From these, we’ll select the most viable approach and create technical drawings, working circuitry, and code, leading to the development of a low-fidelity prototype for user testing in Week 9. Following insights from this session, we will iterate accordingly, developing a high-fidelity prototype with respective components to present in Week 12. While this prototype will still be a proof of concept focusing on a single cane, it aims to demonstrate the device’s potential for future development.
Project Budget
Given the scope of the assignment, we have allocated an $80 budget for acquiring necessary components as outlined in our bill of materials (Fig.1.1). Fortunately, many components are already available – allowing us to keep costs down.
Design Rationale
Ethnographic Research & Situation Of Our Design In A Wider Context
Visual impairments make up a significant portion of global disabilities, affecting millions of people worldwide. An estimated 2.2 billion individuals globally have some form of vision impairment, with at least one billion of these cases being preventable (World Health Organization, 2019). In Australia alone, 13 million people live with one or more chronic eye conditions (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2021). Additionally, more than 1 in 7 people with disabilities rely on mobility aids, highlighting the inherent intersection between vision impairment and mobility challenges.
Despite technology’s widespread impact, there is a distinct gap when it comes to accessibility-focused innovation. Development in the tech industry has largely neglected inclusive design, often failing to cater to the needs of individuals with disabilities (Rojas et al., 2024). Quantitative studies, such as Raja’s (2016) explain why – revealing that many adaptive technologies fail to reach those in need due to high costs, limited availability, and usability issues. Despite their potential, these technologies often stall in the R&D phase as companies prioritise profit over inclusivity, leaving development to universities and philanthropic organisations.
For individuals with partial visual impairment, the gap is particularly large. While there are some commercially available solutions for those with severe visual disabilities, Bhowmick and Hazarika (2017) suggest that individuals with moderate impairments are often entirely overlooked. Not only this, but the high cost and limited availability of devices that do cater to their needs further restricts access – creating significant barriers for those who could benefit from assistive technologies.
Our project, the SmartStick, was born to directly address this gap. It aims to help bridge the divide in assistive technology for individuals with partial visual impairments – seeking to offer a practical and inclusive tool to those who require more than just visual aid.
Rationale Behind Design Decisions
The development of our design has been shaped by several resources. Between research into existing approaches, user testing and surveying and iterative prototyping techniques (Dorst, 2011) – the SmartStick has been designed specifically to meet the genuine, real world needs of users. While, due to the scope of the assignment, we cannot explain every design decision in detail, some key inclusions are as follows :
Haptic Feedback over AI Detection
An early approach to the SmartStick involved AI-based object detection – though this presented several challenges. As discovered through early research, using an open vision model required constant internet access and high processing power (Fig. 2.1) – both of which limited the devices reliability. Similarly, we had intended to relay feedback via audio – however, after identifying our senior target market via d.schools’ user journey framework (2018) (Fig. 2.2), this proved impractical.
As such, we decided to make the switch to haptic feedback using ultrasonic sensing. This method provided immediate, non-visual cues without relying on internet connectivity – simultaneously allowing us to take advantage of the enhanced tactical senses of individuals with limited vision (Day, 2017). Evidently, this shift proved far more practical – with early user testing confirming its effectiveness (Fig 2.3). Users reported finding the device easy to use and responsive to objects in their vicinity.
Three-Way Haptic Sensing
After pivoting to our haptic design, we developed our first low-fidelity prototype with a single ultrasonic sensor and motor – providing the user with forward-facing feedback. (Fig 3.1) This simplified approach was aimed to keep the device intuitive; However, during user testing, many users expressed a desire for greater spatial awareness beyond just the front of the cane. (Fig 3.2). We also observed that users often picked up and rotated the cane to detect obstacles in other directions, compromising the weight bearing functionality of the device.
To address this, we expanded the design, incorporating two additional ultrasonic sensors to detect objects in three directions (Fig 3.3). Each sensor was paired with a corresponding haptic motor, with foam layering added to easily distinguish which motor was vibrating. This three-sensor approach was inspired by Struebing’s Project Halo (2010), an existing project which utilises five ultrasonic sensors to triangulate the position of objects relative to the user’s head. This shift in design helped broaden the device’s obstacle detection without sacrificing the cane’s ease of use or its weight-bearing properties,.
Bash Plate and Housing Materials
The housing for the SmartStick was designed with a focus on both durability and ease of use. During user testing, it became evident that our low-fidelity prototype was prone to breakage – providing insufficient protection for internal components (Fig 4.1). Wires would also often tangle or get caught on objects, affecting device usability. To address these issues, we developed custom 3D-printed housing for the components (Fig 4.2). This housing not only provides a sleeker, more professional looking aesthetic but provides cable management, robustness and adaptive sizing for various cane types.
Evaluation
Overall, we believe we met our brief effectively by adopting ongoing self-assessment and iterative user testing within our approach. These evaluation techniques allowed us to develop a functional proof of concept that both addresses our problem statement and responds to the genuine needs of real users. However several areas for improvement and future development remain.
Ongoing evaluation revealed a number of design challenges over the course of our projects development – including balancing accessibility with compactness, ensuring effective modularity for easy troubleshooting, and optimising sensor response times for varying user speeds. These challenges and their resolutions are outlined in the challenges table in our appendix (Fig 5.1) and played an important role in shaping the SmartStick.
Looking ahead, the project also presents a range of opportunities for further development. Potential enhancements include integrating smaller hardware and refining sensor capabilities. Again, these opportunities have been outlined in detail within our appendix (Fig 5.2). Crucially, however, if the development of the SmartStick was to continue – further user testing would be the clear next step. Although the scope of this assessment prevented us from user-testing with our true target market, this would be extremely important in ensuring the device remains responsive to user needs. Engaging with our target demographic would not only help validate our design choices but also guide future iterations, ensuring that the SmartStick evolves into a truly effective assistive tool.
Conclusion
Undertaking the SmartStick project has been a valuable exercise in the application of human-centred design methodologies to develop solutions that meet the genuine needs of real people. While, if given more time, there are a number of improvements and additional features we could explore, we believe the SmartStick stands as a strong proof of concept, providing a practical, accessible, and innovative foundation to enhance the spatial awareness of those with vision impairments. More importantly, however, we believe this project demonstrates the potential of design thinking in addressing critical gaps in modern assistive technologies, proposing a solution that is not only functional but one that can genuinely change the lives of individuals, for the better.
References
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Bhowmick, A. and Hazarika, S.M. (2017). An insight into assistive technology for the visually impaired and blind people: state-of-the-art and future trends. Journal on Multimodal User Interfaces, 11(2), pp.149–172. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12193-016-0235-6.
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d.school. (2018) Design Thinking Bootleg, Institute of Design at Stanford. [online] Available at: https://dschool.stanford.edu/resources/design-thinking-bootleg
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Rojas, M., Balderas, D.C., Maldonado, J., Ponce, P., Lopez-Bernal, D. and Molina, A. (2024). Lack of verified Inclusive Technology for Workers with disabilities in industry 4.0: a systematic review. International journal of sustainable engineering, 17(1), pp.1–21. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/19397038.2024.2328711.
Struebing, S. (2010) Haptic Feedback Device for the Visually Impaired [Project HALO], Instructables. Instructables. [online] Available at: https://www.instructables.com/Haptic-Feedback-device-for-the-Visually-Impaired/
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