Imagine that you are surrounded by a thick fog. You cannot see anything, in any direction, not even your hand right in front of you. Now imagine that you need to navigate your way through this fog with nothing but the sense of touch to guide you. You’ve no idea what kind of obstacles you might face, what lies ahead of you. Imagine living like this, in a world of virtual darkness, every single day!

About 285 million visually impaired people in this world lead a similar life 365 days a year, according to WHO census, 2012! Of these, 90% live in developing countries where there is little or no access to assistive aids. They face multitudes of problems in their day-to-day lives—including limitations to their freedom of movement, expression, etc.—which in turn hinders them from being an active member of the society and the workforce. This ultimately hampers their self-confidence and self-esteem to a great extent, and they are often restricted from realising their dreams due to the following unproductivity and social exclusion.
TorchIt, an ISO certified organization dedicated to serving people with visual impairment and other disabilities across the world, has been working towards empowering many such people since 2016. With simple and affordable yet highly effective assistive aids like ‘Saarthi’ and ‘Jyoti’, TorchIt has supported the blind to manoeuvre with ease and confidence and stand on their own feet. It has empowered them to ‘walk with pride’, both literally and figuratively!

“It helps enhance mobility and self-dependence through Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning- based smart technology that puts people first, hence making the lives of differently-abled safer, easier, and better.”
 

Saarthi: TorchIt’s First Gift To The Blind

“We are surrounded by all kinds of gadgets that make our lives a lot better, so why not have something similar for the visually challenged! They deserve more than the conventional cane.”

It was with this thought in mind that TorchIt released its first product, ‘Saarthi’ or the ‘Fourth Eye’ in 2017, after almost 18 iterations and feedback from more than 1,200 users across the world. It is a unique assistive mobility device that serves as a handheld object detection smart cane to help the visually impaired find their way around with ease and without depending on others. Highly accurate sensors are attached to the device in order to perceive obstacles and provide feedback to the users in the form of buzzing sounds and vibrations. A powerful battery and microcontroller are used to make it more efficient and long-lasting. It is useful for different purposes like indoor and outdoor mobility.
Some of the most significant features of the device are:

• Ergonomic Design
• Affordable
• 7% accuracy in obstacle detection
• Portable & Pocket-friendly
• 3 Different Ranges [closed rooms (2 feet), lobbies (4 feet), and open areas (8 feet)]
• Battery life – 30 days
• Battery Back-up – 7 days

Source: https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2019/07/torchit-empowering-vision-beyond-sight/