Orlando teen develops device to aid visually impaired

By Marquise Meda

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    ORANGE CITY, Florida (WESH) — Many teenagers spend their free time hanging out with friends or scrolling through social media, but Tiffani Gay, an 18-year-old student at Orlando Science Schools, spent hers developing a device that could potentially help billions of people.

“Growing up, I actually lived with my aunt who had a visual impairment, and I watched as her vision degenerated over time. And seeing that made me realize that there was a lack of technologies out there that were able to help those with visual impairments out there adapt through their circumstance,” said Tiffani Gay, a senior at Orlando Science Schools.

Through years of trial and error, Tiffani developed a wearable device that uses vibrations to alert people when they’re about to run into something. As they get closer, the vibrations get stronger.

“So I worked to develop this device that uses LIDAR sensors to topographically map an area, and then ERM motors to send a vibration signal to somebody who is visually impaired and essentially help them understand their environment,” said Gay.

Lidar is a very common type of sensor. It uses a light spectrum that lets out a non-visible light.

“So, imagine there’s a light protruding out of this sensor right here. We call this a time of light sensor, it determines the amount of time for light to reach my hand and come back. And it factors that in to determine the distance you are away from that object,” said Gay.

The technology on Tiffani’s visor appeals to more than just the sense of touch.

“So, I have the lights to indicate distance and proximity. As you get closer, you’ll see the light turn red. As you get moderately far away, you’ll see the light turn blue. And as you get really far away, it should turn green. And the different lights symbolize how intense the vibration may be,” said Gay.

Tiffani has been working on this project for the past three years. She tested dozens of different materials for comfort, ease of access, and functionality.

“A lot of really crazy ideas, but in that time, I was able to prototype and create different models as you see here. I’ve been able to make it a lot more efficient over these past three years, and I’m also working receiving funding to get my patent and take this to a level where this can be more accessible for more people,” said Gay.

“What I really want to work on is making it accessible to the countries where we have the highest percentage of people who are visually impaired, and these are countries where we also see not a lot of funding,” said Gay.

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