Hacky Blinders

Smart Wearable (Front View)
Smart Wearable (Top View)
Twilio SMS containing the meeting link

Inspiration

Decided to make something that makes a group capable of doing things that might seem impractical to them. For example, say a blind person wants to select his favorite cookies from the store. It might be impossible for him to search for the right shelf and get the cookies alone. So I've decided to build something which makes it easier for them to navigate.

What it does

Hacky Blinders is a smart glass that can detect obstacles in front of the person wearing it. So the device detects an obstacle in front and alerts the user via audio feedback from his smartphone. Also, it is capable of seeking help from friends and family of the blind person by automatically initiating a jitsi meeting and sharing the meeting code with his family using Twilio SMS and so that anyone can join and help him out. All this with just the press of a button.

How we built it

I hooked up 3 ultrasonic sensors onto a spectacle and connected it to a raspberry pi. The sensors continuously track for obstacles in a 50 cm range in front of them. So if any sensor detects an object in front audio feedback is given to the user. The pi is connected to the user's Android phone via ADB and the adb shell is used to play the audio feedback on the phone. Also, the auto initiating of a jitsi meeting is also automated via ADB. So when the user presses the help button. An SMS is sent to every stored contact number on the device via Twilio API and jitsi meeting is automatically opened on the phone.