Vibrating(振动的) gloves will soon replace the walking sticks to help blind people “see” their surroundings. This is the prediction of a British team who has developed a new smart glove, called SenSei, which helps the wearer keep away from the objects ahead.
The glove features a battery-operated ultrasonic senor(超声传感器) on the back of the glove. Ultrasound waves are sent out, hit the obstacle, and when they return to the glove, they vibrate the fingers, telling the wearer the distance from the objects.
The glove was designed by two students at Nottingham University who wanted to develop a device that could be used without much training. “At present, the attachment(附件) is quite large, but we are working on a new system containing a microprocessor that is smaller and not as heavy,’ said Raivat Luthura, one of the designers. The design recently won £1,000 ($1,540) and first prize in the Entrepreneurship and Business Competition run by Nottingham University Business School. “We’re going to use the money from the competition for further development of the device,” Mr Luthura added.
It follows the launch of a similar device last year which helps people who are blind and visually impaired to learn Braille(盲文). Vibrating motors at the knuckle of each finger in the gloves make a sound to tell a wearer to press a corresponding key, and the system tells them which letter they are typing. And the gloves even teach the wearer when they are not paying attention.
There has also been an increase in so-called “smart walking sticks” that use sonar to let blind people know, through vibrations, if there are objects ahead. Ultrasound waves are sent out and, when they return to the walking sticks, they vibrate on the relevant side to warn of an obstacle ahead.
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