VietNamNet Bridge – A walking stick created by Nguyen Duy Quy, a teacher at the Nguyen Dinh Chieu Specialized High School in Da Nang, helps blind people walk safely on the street.

Quy, who became a teacher at the high school 16 years ago, soon realized that it was difficult and dangerous for the blind to move around. He saw many visually impaired students join hands, groping their way to school.

One day, when he was at a sidewalk café, he saw a blind broom vendor try to cross a street with a stick amid the heavy traffic. The teacher then decided that he needed to create a smart stick which could help the blind cross streets safely.

Although he is a math teacher who does not have deep knowledge about chip technology, Quy still believed he could use technology to create the stick.

“I encountered difficulties when learning about chips and basic principles. I also had to spend a lot of time to look for suitable materials to make the stick,” Quy said, adding that he had failed many times.

Some of the sticks he made could not see far enough ahead of the person, and the others could satisfy the requirements but consumed too much power,” he explained.

However, Quy finally found the optimal solution for his stick which satisfied two basic requirements – a loudspeaker to warn people in traffic and a “powerful battery”.

The smart stick looks like any other stick, but it is equipped with an LED lamp and a loudspeaker warning system. When the person wants to cross the street, they switch on the ignition to activate the lamp and loudspeaker systems.

The systems will repeatedly give traffic signals so that other people can make way for the blind.

Quy said that, though equipped with warning lamps and a hooter, the stick does not need much power to operate. A battery can be used for 20 consecutive days, 15 minutes per day.

The aim of the smart stick is to give traffic signals, so that sighted people can make way for the blind. Stick users can save power by turning on the sticks only when they cross the street, or walk in darkness.

The smart sticks made by Quy have been used widely by students of Nguyen Dinh Chieu High School and the blind in Da Nang and HCM City.

A HCM City-based enterprise in early October contacted Quy and wanted to order 200 smart sticks.

However, Quy could not take the order because he does not have adequate facilities for industrial production. He said he was willing to cooperate with enterprises that want to develop the products.

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