Embedded Smart Glove using Ultrasonic and Flame Sensors for Helping Visually Impaired People

Abstract

Visually impaired is someone’s condition of lacking visual observation due to neurological and physiological factors. Also, wildfire and coronavirus cases made the situation worst for visually impaired people. A helping tool is very needed to overcome these problems. This paper proposes a prototype of an embedded glove using ultrasonic and flame sensors to provide a convenient and safe method for visually impaired people to overcome difficulties in daily life. Smart glove system prototype based on Arduino UNO microcontroller, ultrasonic and flame sensors, SIM800L GSM module for communication, and buzzer for alarm notification. Then, the complete device prototype was tested using both the acrylic box and embedded at one’s hand as a proof of concept for emphasizing the reliability and usefulness of our work. The results show that the ultrasonic sensor works well for detecting an object with a coverage of 40 cm from the blind. The fire/flame sensor also works well when using fire detection mode for detecting the small fire from matches or lighter at a distance of about 15 cm or big fire from a burnt paper at a distance of about 20 cm and will be sending a short message to the respected person through SIM800L GSM. The only drawback for this device is a bit heavy when used on hand and still lacks an IoT system. However, further research will be conducted to overcome those problems soon.