Ultrasonic Alarm Glove

This paper presents the design of an Ultrasonic Alarm Glove for visually impaired individuals that a group of Engineering Technology students at Sam Houston State University (SHSU) implemented as part of their Digital Electronics course. The prototype has worked successfully during demonstrations for outreach and recruiting events that pre-college, high school and transfer students attended. The components used are two ultrasonic sensors, a haptic motor, a tilt switch, and an ARDUINO microcontroller. The sensors capture and determine the physical distance of an object within a range. The sensors are programmed to emit a signal, know when to expect a return signal and then calculate the distance of an object based on the elapsed time between the signals. Digital-to-analog conversion takes place during this process. The wrist of the glove will vibrate to alert the user of an object that is within a certain proximity through the use of the haptic motor. This process needs the reverse operation of analog-to-digital conversion. The vibration pulses vary as signaled by the duration that is detected by the two ultrasonic sensors on the front of the glove and the calculated distance in the program. With the use of a display or serial monitor in Arduino IDE itself, the calculated distances and corresponding vibration lengths sent to the haptic motor can be observed. The current prototype is activated when the hand is extended forward and deactivated by use of a tilt switch when the hands are down. At its current state, this project has earned strong attraction from attendees in various recruiting events regardless of age, sector, or orientation. The success of the project and real time presentation has encouraged students to participate in more active learning and innovative challenging projects integrated in many other courses in Engineering Technology department at SHSU by offering new and challenging concepts to the curriculum.