Uneven-surface cam to aid blind developed by University of Melbourne engineers

BOFFINS have created a device capable of detecting uneven surfaces like potholes and kerbs to help protect the vision impaired and elderly.

Associate Professor Elaine Wong has developed a new device that helps the vision impaired and elderly. Picture: Alex Coppel.

• Life skills on the menu
• Insights into lack of vision

MELBOURNE engineers have created a device capable of detecting uneven surfaces, which pose a danger to the vision-impaired and the elderly.

The cutting-edge device being developed at the University of Melbourne could be attached to walking frames, wheelchairs and canes to alert users to the potential dangers.

Unlike other walking aids and technology, the prototype identifies hazards that don’t protrude, including kerbs, potholes and the ends of railway platforms.

“Our device aims to give the elderly or the vision-­impaired the ability to travel safely on uneven surfaces,” said Associate Professor Elaine Wong from the department of electrical and electronic engineering.

“I hope it can improve users’ independence and ability to make a valuable contribution to society.”

Walking aids provide invaluable assistance in identifying protruding objects such as buildings, electricity poles and fences.

“But they cannot easily detect potholes or descending stairs, which can be a big hazard for people who are vision impaired, in a wheelchair or who use a walking frame,” Prof Wong said.

She and colleagues Prof Marimuthu Palaniswami and Dr Aravinda Sridhara Rao designed a prototype.

It uses a laser to emit patterns, and deviations in those patterns are detected by a camera and processed by soft­ware to enable warnings of obstacles.

The hands-free optical laser can already “see” a metre ahead, giving the user enough time to change direction.

“This is very new and exciting because we have cracked how to detect the non-protruding obstacles, but there is a lot of work still to be done,” Prof Wong said.

The next step is to reduce the device’s size, determine the type of information fed back to the user, and perfect how it is communicated.

Vision Australia’s David Woodbridge praised the break­through. Despite using a cane and a guide dog, he fell off a rail platform and broke three ribs.

“It would be fantastic to know if there was a pothole or a set of descending stairs ahead or a platform ending,” he said.

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