Smart Cane

[RBdevelop]

Short description of the idea (140 character tweet):

Smart White Cane for the blind . Bring IOT to the blind community.

What is your project concept or idea? What challenge or opportunity will it solve?

Insert Arduino or Raspberry into a white can . Step by Step navigation instructions for the blind using Google maps API. Current IOT cane devices are still prohibitively expensive. Moreover the blinc community does have resources to learn how to use new tool. We can easily and cheaply modify current white canes to solve this issue . Blind can navigate roads and cities with ease .

Who will benefit from your project? Describe the humans at the center of the problem - who are they?

The 285 million person blind community.

How would they benefit? Can you tell their story?

Learning to navigate as a blind person can take 9 months on average. Even worst navigating a new city is whole new process . In brief the blind community can often feel trapped and immobile.

Do you have photos of them? Or quotes?

Being lost in a new city blows....being blinds is hard enough already

Issue area(s) relevant to your project idea:

• Children & Youth
• Economic Opportunity & Development
• Education
• Health
• Mobility/Transportation
• Neighborhoods
• Public Safety

  What is the current state of your project idea?

- I tested a prototype and want to build it

Tell us more about the current state of your project idea.

Do you have any links to news articles, text, mockups, code, or data?

http://electronicsofthings.com/launches-reviews/products/get-your-grandma-a-smart-cane/

Tell us about yourself.

What is your background? Why is this challenge important to you?

Software Developer (former asset trader) . I have a recently blind relative .

Are you representing a group in submitting this project idea?

Yes . 2 full stack engineers and students at the Chris Cole Rehabilitation Center for the Blind .

[mateoclarke]

Awesome proposal! I've added some labels.

What kind of help do you need for the hackathon weekend? Certain skills for the technology? Testers? Designers? Writers?

[mateoclarke]

Feel free to include images. Like maybe you have some examples of the prototype. The image from the article you linked was really cool.

To attach images with Markdown: ![description](image_link)

[polunsky]

It's too late for the current submission but I've let some SmartCities folks know about this, it's a logical extension of smart transportation infrastructure.

[RBdevelop]

What are you talking about @polunsky . We submitted this by the deadline. Why can't we contribute at the hackathon. This a true hack for a change with a super talented team. You don't want to not include us.

On Sat, May 14, 2016 at 4:53 PM polunsky notifications@github.com wrote:

It's too late for the current submission but I've let some SmartCities folks know about this, it's a logical extension of smart transportation infrastructure.

— You are receiving this because you authored the thread. Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/atxhack4change/2016-project-proposals/issues/21#issuecomment-219253647

[image: photo] Robert Balderas RB Develop 512.998.0373 | robert@rbdevelop.com | sdfsdf http://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-balderas http://twitter.com/robdeclared

[RBdevelop]

@mateoclarke . I specifically did not include that photo b/c that concept is prohibitively expensive and as a business model its easy to adapt the existing standard , the white cane, rather than make a new hardware device. The latter requires buy in from state institutions , school, and tons of bureaucratic red tape.

[polunsky]

I'm sorry for causing the confusion here -- I meant to say that your idea is really good, and I wish it had been included in a different competition that Austin is participating in, the Smart Cities challenge, which has absolutely no bearing on this hackathon. http://austintexas.gov/page/smart-city-challenge ."The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has selected Austin as one of seven finalists in its Beyond Traffic Smart City Challenge – giving the City the opportunity to win a $50 million prize. The Challenge invited medium-sized cities to submit an innovative proposal for how to create a fully integrated, first-of-its-kind transportation network that uses data, technology and creativity to shape how people and goods move in the future. Read the Austin proposal, “Vision for a 21st Century Mobility System,” at https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Austin_Smart_City_proposal_2-4-16.pdf."

[ssharif1]

ACTION NEEDED

Hello Project Champion,

Please provide the following: Full Name + Email Address You can comment here or send to ssharif1@stedwards.edu

We are going to be sending out a note + newsletter to our 345 (as of May 18) attendees sharing our submitted projects before the event and your hackers will want to know who you are. Additionally, we have PC-specific communication that we want to make sure that you are included on.

Thanks, ATX H4C Staff

[mateoclarke]

Hi @RBdevelop. You're project has been accepted!

Now that your project has been approved, here are some things we suggest you do next: https://github.com/atxhack4change/2016-project-proposals#once-your-project-is-accepted-here-are-some-things-we-suggest-you-do-next

You will receive an email in the next few days asking you to confirming your speaking slot for the Saturday morning pitches.

Please let us know if you will no longer be able to champion your project at the hackathon.

[danielhonker]

@RBdevelop - you should have received an invite to join Slack. If you haven't already joined the team and seen the Slack channel for your project, it's #smartcane. We'll be sending out an email with details on pitches soon.