Learn extra at:
What simply occurred? A playful Houston canine named Kunde impressed a gaggle of Rice College engineering college students to deal with a problem confronted by numerous pets: methods to assist blind canines discover their world with out worry or frustration. Their reply is a high-tech vest that might quickly supply new independence to visually impaired animals – with out the discomfort of conventional aids.
The challenge started when Kunde’s house owners, Grant Belton and AJ Worth, reached out to Rice College’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, hoping for a solution that will let their canine, who misplaced his imaginative and prescient to glaucoma, transfer freely and safely.
4 college students – Adam Vuong, Cristiana De Sousa, Issy Tsai, and Santiago Brent – took on the problem, calling themselves Kunde’s Buddies.
As an alternative of counting on bumping into obstacles for suggestions, the crew designed a light-weight vest that makes use of vibrations to alert the canine when one thing is in the best way. The vest is supplied with linear resonant actuator motors, the identical sort utilized in many wearable units and smartphones, which vibrate at various strengths and places relying on the proximity and nature of an impediment.
Mounted close to the canine’s head are stereoscopic cameras that seize depth info in actual time. This knowledge is processed by a custom-printed circuit board and a vision-processing pc, which then triggers the suitable vibration on the vest.
“Sort of like giving Kunde a second set of eyes, the cameras create a depth map,” defined Tsai, the freshman electrical engineering main who designed the vest’s motor management system. “The nearer an impediment is, the stronger the vibration on that facet of the vest.”
The important thing was creating a tool that was snug, sturdy, and efficient. The crew needed to home delicate electronics in a method that would not overheat or weigh Kunde down, all whereas ensuring the vest might stand up to play and Houston’s scorching, humid climate. “We had to determine methods to embed electronics right into a wearable vest that is breathable, mushy and rugged sufficient for a canine who likes to play,” stated De Sousa, a junior mechanical engineering pupil. “It was an actual train in artistic problem-solving.”
The challenge drew on a variety of expertise. Brent, a junior electrical engineering main, led the stereo imaging and knowledge processing work, whereas Vuong and De Sousa centered on integrating the programs and designing the bodily vest. Tsai made certain the vibration motors labored effectively with out making the vest cumbersome.
Wearable haptic know-how is a rising subject at Rice, with functions that stretch past helping canines. The crew’s resolution to make use of open-source machine studying and inexpensive electronics not solely made the vest accessible but in addition laid the groundwork for future adaptation. By counting on extensively out there parts and software program, their design may be simply scaled or modified for different functions.
This method opens the door to broader makes use of, resembling wearable rehabilitation units for folks, the place related know-how might present real-time suggestions and help with therapeutic workouts. “This challenge exhibits that with the correct mixture of low-power sensors and haptic suggestions, it’s potential to offer real-time spatial steerage in a light-weight, unobtrusive method,” stated Brent.
Kunde remains to be testing the most recent model of the vest, which the crew hopes will cut back collisions and provides him extra freedom. The prototype at the moment has a variety of as much as eight meters and a battery lifetime of about two hours. The scholars offered their work on the 2025 Huff OEDK Showcase and competitors in April.