A Talking Distance Measuring Wheel for the Visually Impaired

This work aims to design and create a prototype of an inexpensive talking measuring wheel for individuals who are visually impaired. By providing Brailles display and pronouncing the distance travelled, the proposed device helps educate the visually impaired to understand the concept of distance and measurement. To achieve this, an Arduino Uno R3 microcontroller is utilized to detect wheel's movement via RotaryEncoder Arduino. Once the distance value has been obtained, the WTV020M01 sound module selects an appropriate pre-recorded MP3 audio file to decode, informing the user of the distance travelled in two supported languages: Thai and English. The proposed device has been evaluated by 32 sighted and 12 visually impaired volunteers who extensively used the device and provided scores in six aspects: design, accuracy, ease of use, safety, effectiveness and appropriateness of the price. The device received overall satisfactory scores, and due to its relatively low cost, is well-suited for individuals with low income.