Chun Xu

—— An old problem. A new way forward. ——

A Thumb-based environmental sensing device for VisuaIIy impaired individuals.

This project focuses on the difficulty visually impaired people may face in understanding their surroundings while walking independently. In open spaces, complex junctions, or situations with temporary obstacles, clear references and boundaries can be limited, making it harder to quickly understand what lies ahead.

To address this, I designed a low-cost assistive device mounted on a white cane. It senses the environment ahead, simplifies complex obstacles into circles of different sizes and positions, and communicates this information through a mechanical tactile interface in contact with the thumb. Instead of identifying exactly what an object is, the user can more quickly understand where an obstacle is, roughly how large it is, and where the surrounding safe boundaries are.

The design is intended to complement, rather than replace, the white cane or existing navigation tools by providing more intuitive local spatial information. A functional prototype covering environmental sensing, information processing, and tactile feedback has been developed, and the core design principles have been tested through structural iterations. Further work will focus on miniaturisation, engineering refinement.