Assistive Smart Cane Technology for Visually Impaired Peoples: A Review

Abstract

Smart cane technology is an assistive technology that allows visually impaired people to walk more freely and independently. This study reviewed various researchers’ works on cane development methodologies. This review’s goal is to determine the full cane configuration of hardware parts, software architecture, and cane structure. We discussed object detection methods, object identification methods, flame detection methods, water detection methods, and location tracking methods. Recently, many researchers have focused on the key development of a smart cane using a computer vision system with Python and Yolo V5 deep learning algorithms to identify objects or obstacles in cane users’ paths. The hardware part is used to connect sensors to the Raspberry Pi module, which is mostly used as a controller. The ergonomics of cane structure are cane tip and handle shape, which is the key future of cane design. Finally, this study concludes that the most effective methods and materials for making and improving smart cane are described.