A research group led by Dr Nguyen Ba Hai, a lecturer at the HCMC Technical Teacher Training University, has successfully invented a prototype instrument that facilitates the blind when they travel.


The device, which is named the SPKT Eye, was revealed by the group after three years of study on the project.

Looking like the brim of a crash helmet, the special hat has a laser sensor fixed to its front to detect barriers at a distance ranging from 50 cm to 3 meters.

Users of the device simply shake their heads slightly to activate the sensor, Hai said.

When a barrier is detected the sensor, which uses technology to convert visual signals to vibrations, will vibrate in the hat’s area that is located on the upper forehead of the person wearing it.

The closer the barrier, the stronger the vibration signal is felt by users, and once no barrier is found in the range of detection, the vibration will stop, Hai said.

The hat is currently in trial use among members of HCMC’s Thu Duc District Blind Association so that improvements and adjustments can be made before being produced on a large scale to serve the blind, he said.

In the trial period, the hat is operated by a battery that is carried by the user on their back, but this system will be replaced with a small rechargeable battery fixed inside the device on the finished product.

A camera and a global positioning system (GPS) will also be fixed to the device, and video signals collected will be converted into voices to help users identify exactly where they are.
A finished device will weigh about 300 grams, Hai said.

The cost of the device has so far amounted to VND20 million (US$960), but the cost will be reduced by more than half that when it is mass produced, researchers said.

The device will help relieve difficulties facing the blind in daily life thereby help them integrate more deeply into society (Photo|: Tuoi Tre)

Valuable to the blind

Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, one of the five students who are involved in the invention, said his group is improving the sensor to increase the speed of detection so that the blind can learn about any barrier as quickly as possible.

Nguyen Thi Thao, vice head of the Blind Association of Thu Duc District, where 700 blind people are living, has used the device in a test and said that it helped her to avoid barriers effectively during travel.

Duong Thi Thanh Lan, a 45-year-old member of the association who is making a living as a street peddler of lottery tickets, said she feels safer when moving and using the device.

“A simple stick cannot help us find barriers like tree branches hanging down, chassis of trucks, or panels installed above the ground. Therefore, it is normal for us to suffer injuries from things fixed high from the ground. This hat is very valuable to the blind.”

Once it is made available in large quantity, the device will help relieve difficulties facing the blind in daily life thereby help them integrate more deeply into society, Hai said.

Tuoitre