The first generation
Before the second generation, there was the first. We built it before 2022, took it to the TEKNOFEST 2022 final, and won Best Presentation.
The evidence
| Claim | Evidence | Status |
|---|---|---|
| TEKNOFEST 2022 finalist | None published yet | Evidence being added |
| Best Presentation award | None published yet | Evidence being added |
| Tens of kits built and given out by the team | The first generation record | Stated in the published record; photos being added |
| Hundreds more built by others from the open design | None published yet | Evidence being added |
| Used in Herat and in Turkey | None published yet | Evidence being added |
What it did
Four small computers, five ultrasonic sensors, a GPS and a 2G modem. It was built to be low cost from the start. The first generation record lists what it was shown to do:
- Near-range detection of static, unstructured obstacles, above and below.
- Haptic and local audio alerts together, at a tunable threshold of about 50 to 70 cm.
- Two feedback channels that survive loud streets and markets.
- A standalone GPS fix and a 2G location text, with no broadband, Wi-Fi, or phone.
- A passive after-dark marker: the LED comes on by itself when the light drops.
Where it went
Worn by blind and visually impaired people at the blind support centre where it was built, and demonstrated in Herat and in Turkey. Their feedback set its alert distances, and the testers who already moved well asked to feel the world rather than be told about it. That lesson became the second generation.
From the first generation to the second
- Before 2022: The first generation is built at a blind support centre.
- 2022: TEKNOFEST 2022: finalist, and the Best Presentation award.
- After: Tens of kits given out by the team; hundreds more built by others from the open design.
- Now: The second generation, in testing.