Reliable wireless obstacle detection system for elderly and visually impaired people with multiple alarm units

Obstacle detection system (ODS) has become widely used as an assistive device for helping elderly and visually impaired people during their locomotion. Thus, the development of new ODS has evolved rapidly. In this paper, we discuss how an ODS with multiple sensors and multiple alarm modules can help the elderly to move around and minimize contact with obstacles along the pathway. Test results show that the system could control the intended warning signal (buzzer, vibrator or audio messages) within specific distance (within 0.4m to 1.5m from the user). Percentage difference between actual distance and measured one was less than 5%. The proposed system is easy to use and portable, and have wide application potentials due to flexibility in the design and software.