A group of students at Juan Diego Catholic High School have created a special vest that helps people with vision problems. The Acti-Vest uses three ultrasonic sensors and a series of vibration motors to guide people with vision problems to perceive objects around them.
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Two of the sensors are located on the front of the vest and one on the back.
Erin Chan, one of the students who worked on the Acti-Vest, said: “The ultrasonic sensors send out waves and calculate the distance between the person wearing the vest and the object.”
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The frequency of the vibrations depends on how far the person is from another person or object.
The more often the vest vibrates, the closer the user to an object. The further away the user from the object, the fewer the vibrations.
“We tested it on one of our partners. He was walking and he was able to stop in time and it’s amazing how quickly this feedback worked,” Chan said.
The students also tested the Acti-Vest on a woman who was blind from birth.
Chan said: “He was able to ski with it, which I think is amazing.”
Acti-Vest won the $10,000 grand prize in the “2021 High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge.”
Now, the students plan to use this money to create a second prototype, based on the feedback they received from the first.
The only problem reported by people who have tried the Acti-Vest is that they couldn't tell if the object around them was stationary or moving in their direction or the opposite direction.
The team hopes that Doppler sensors, stronger vibration motors, and more sophisticated programming will be able to improve this problem.
“I hope it’s something that will change people’s lives,” Chan said.
Source: fox13now.com
