Final-year IIIT-B student secures patent for innovative solution: Finger mounted device
A final-year iMTech student at IIIT-B, has accomplished a remarkable feat by obtaining a patent for a device that can help visually impaired students. The student, Mayank Kabra, has titled his innovation ‘System and Method for Assisting Visually Impaired Individuals.’
Currently, many students are visually impaired and cannot continue their education with their other normal classmates in a school environment. Despite this, there are no solution for this problem at present; either students have to buy a v very expensive device and study separately or discontinue their education.
Like IIITB, there are many institutions and schools with more inclusive programmes for students, where there is a focus on teaching all types of students. But still, technological developments for the visually impaired student can enrich their learning experience at the same pace as the other students.
Kabra is currently doing his internship on ECE with a specialisation in Zurich. Revealing his innovation, he said that they had developed the technology of a finger-mounted device and a cost-effective solution for visually impaired students. The device operates through a combination of haptic technology, real-time digital board in interaction, and tactile braille feedback.
The sensor module live data from the classroom’s digital board. “This device will be mounted on the fingers of visually impaired people where, in a live classroom, whenever the teacher starts writing on the digital board, the device will receive feedback from the cursor of the whiteboard and will guide the human hand to go to a virtual mapping of the pointer on a plan device using haptic technology. The writing will be converted into a text stream and sent through the microcontroller to the device. It has braille dots embedded where it makes you feel about the text written on the whiteboard. On the other hand, we can also retrace the the outlines of the figures drawn on the board and receive feedback as the technology gives the sensation of the drawn figure on the finger,” he said.
Talking about the inspiration behind the creation, he said, The primary inspiration came from the challenges faced by the visually impaired students in accessing education on an equal footing with their sighted peers. The high cost of existing assistive technologies and the desire to integrate them fully into mainstream education drove the development of this solution
Speaking about his mentor, Kabra said, “Mentorship can significantly influence a student’s academic and research journey. Professor Madhav, with his expertise and experience guided the conceptualisation and development of the device. His insights were invaluable in navigating the challenges of creating a new technology, especially one aimed at enhancing education for these students. His guidance and support for filing the patent were very helpful.”
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