S-Cane: Ultrasonic Sensor-Based Smart Cane for the Visually Impaired

One out of six people in the world suffers from disabilities, including physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments. The disability hinders their participation in society and limits their access to education, healthcare, and employment. Among disabilities, visual impairment requires assistive equipment such as white canes. Conventional canes have limitations in obstacle detection and may not address concerns such as potholes. Information and communication technology have been explored in numerous studies to enhance the usability of white canes for the blind. In this study, a low-cost smart cane called S-Cane was developed, aiming to detect obstacles, water pools, and potholes, with an emphasis on affordability and ease of manufacturing. A usability test was performed on a visually impaired user. The experiment results presented a detection error with an RMSE of 0.617 and a SUS score of 77.5. The results suggest that S-Cane has a tolerable detection error and sufficient usability.