About fifteen visually impaired individuals were given hand-held assistive device, named Saarthi, at a function held at the Blind People's Association (BPA) on Thursday.
The device which can also be mounted on top of a blind person's cane is the product of a startup —Torchit — set up by students of the Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU).
Explaining how the device works, Kshitij Shah, co-founder of Torchit said that the device helps identify obstacles for visually challenged people. "The device vibrates at a different intensity depending on the object and how close it is. It takes a blind person about a week to get used to it. The intensity of vibration is often for a minute but a blind person can detect the subtle variations," said Shah.
The product was in research and development for three years and it has been tested with the help of 1200 visually impaired people.
"We have also approached all the institutions in India that work for the blind. Through the start-up, we want to help a cause. We plan to go the CSR way so that companies can help fund purchase of the device for the visually impaired people," said Hunny Bhagchandani, of Torchit. He was also felicitated by the BPA for his efforts in improving the lives of the blind.
The startup managed to raise Rs 20 lakh through the state government and about Rs 4 lakh from participating in 25 start-up competitions.
Explaining how the device is better than a cane, Shah said the device sends out an alert before the person using it actually reaches an obstacle. "With a cane, a person can detect the obstacle only when he is close to it. But this device will start vibrating even before a person reaches the obstacle thus alerting them beforehand," said Shah. Different intensity of vibrations also let the person know if the obstacle is a living or non-living one.
The BPA has already added the device as a donation option on its website.
DEVICE WORKING
- The device helps identify obstacles for visually challenged people.
- The device vibrates at a different intensity depending on the object and how close it is.
- The intensity of vibration is often for a minute but a blind person can detect the subtle variations
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