Leading a "blind" man through a course: engineering project

[mwe-maxxowner]

My team's next engineering assignment is to buld a contraption of some sort to lead a blindfolded person through a course. The course will consist of an initial straight of varying distances, a 90degree turn in either direction, and another varied straight and possibly another turn.

It must be adjustable for different distances and different turns, as they will have to go through the course set up at least two different ways. The "blind" person is not allowed to count (steps) and we are not allowed to use anything pre-produced (monotone, timer, etc.). It must be all contained on the "blind" person, and must be made by us. (you can also use ropes and stuff-like to regulate the distance of the person's step).

We will not know anything about the course until test time, and it will change between our different trials anyway. My team and I, along with the rest of the freshman general engineering classes, are all totally clueless as to how this is to be accomplished. Any ideas guys?

ps, if anything i said is unclear, or if you don't understand a part of it, please ask. We have to go to our first session to work on it tonight, and it'd be nice to have some ideas before starting. Our last project was dumping a chicken through various different holes on an "assembly line" using our own contraption, and that was exponentially easier to figure out!

[Nitronaught]

It has to guide you through the maze, it can not be something that just warns you that you are too close to an object?

Glad I'm done with school.:wacko:

[RCOVERBOARD]

Simple answer, it is called a walking stick lol.

[mwe-maxxowner]

Well, with a walking stick they would just keep walking through straight and never notice the turn they walked right by.

[mwe-maxxowner]

It has to guide you through the maze, it can not be something that just warns you that you are too close to an object?

Glad I'm done with school.:wacko:

Don't think there would be anything for them to walk into, but it can be anything we build to get them through the course, regardless of how it works, and as long as it is contained on the person. (no guidewires, etc.)

[BigDaddyMaxx]

what about spring feelers like they used to use on cars to feel for the curb? if it is a walled course

it maybe a rope course.

[Nitronaught]

Don't think there would be anything for them to walk into, but it can be anything we build to get them through the course, regardless of how it works, and as long as it is contained on the person. (no guidewires, etc.)

So a sonar operated device could detect the walls of the course and create a tone when you get so close no wall no tone so move forward.:cool:

Something like this? http://www.apogeekits.com/sonar.htm

[TexasSP]

Get several lego mindstorm kits and see what you can do! Other than that I have no "real" advice.

[mwe-maxxowner]

I don't think there will be walls to the course. It'll be laid out on the ground in an open area. :(

edit, it says i'm offline, how weird lol

[mwe-maxxowner]

update, course is set up in the middle of a field, no walls, curbs, etc.

[chickenhawk]

What can the rest of the team do? Must be a catch somewhere, If he can't see you'll have to do it for him.

[Maxx-Damage]

If there is no walls or anything to snag on, use 2 ropes attached to the persons arms and have the ropes run back to you. You pull the left arm to go left and the right for right. Just have enough rope.........
My lil simple idea:)

[mwe-maxxowner]

Hold up, I'm getting a link to the instructions in full.
http://bb.clemson.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_16376_1

Pretty sure this link won't work for y'all, i'm trying to figure out how to upload a pdf file somewhere where i can then post it as a link

[cuda_tmaxx]

nope, no way to log on to your blackboard

[mwe-maxxowner]

Yeah, I was sure of that. I'm trying to build a website on mozilla and post it there, but I can't upload a pdf from my u drive onto it.

file:///D:/profile.cu/My%20Documents/2nd%20project.pdf
This was done using mozilla as the browser, so I don't know how well it will work with ie, or if it'll work at all. I'm gonna print it out and scan it if I can't figure anything else out and post it as a picture.

[mwe-maxxowner]

it's here (http://people.clemson.edu/~mwallac/project%20assnmnt.html)
Ha! Got it!! (please tell me it works)

[Nitronaught]

use a support belt around the waist.
coming off the belt and arm that goes out about 1 foot then 90 degree turn down straight where it will come to a U shape. This U shape is to go on the sides of the 2" x 4" board and act as a guide for the user.

That's all I can think of.:cool:

[mwe-maxxowner]

Sounds plausible. We have contemplated using an hourglass type creation with airsoft pellets and 2-liter bottles, and, through lots of testing, determine how many pellets drop for, say, every five feet so that we can calibrate it for different distances. When it runs out, they hear the pellets finish dropping, and turn, then they have another timer they activate and let it run till the course is finished. We also have a rope tied between both legs so that the distance of the steps is regulated, and, so far, the only way we can come up with to regulate the speed of the walker is for every team member to have a beat in their head that is roughly the same (kind of like keeping time in band), which we would only be able to accomplish by going over it with everybody right before.

just figured out, the board only goes the direction of the initial straight, doesn't make the turn to travel to the "prize" :(

[macster]

Following on from Nitronaught's suggestion, your rules state that no equip may touch the ground but that presumably does not include the 2x4 curb/ guide boards? In this case, suggest you extend Nitro's design to include a rolling device (hanging from the waste) that rolls along the top of the boards ahead of the walker and can (somehow) be pre-set with each distance i.e. to 'click' or something after n revolutions to inform the walker of his arrival at positions 1,2. (problem is keeping the rolling device on the guide boards as if it comes off and makes contact with the ground I suppose you fail...:mad: )
Turning 90 degrees: some additional mechanism that you preset for a L or R turn and walker activates to re-position himself, then re-sets the distance mechanism on the rolling device before commencing distance 2.

[mwe-maxxowner]

Interesting idea! I may be able to work with that if we can use the loophole about the guide boards. Only problem is I don't think the guideboards will go after the turn to the prize, but it may be useful in getting to the turn, cause it sounds more reliable than the "timer". The wheel could possibly just reel up a rope or something that is rigged so that it doesn't drag the ground (maybe unwinds from a spool attached to the walker) and the rope's attached to the belt, and when it tightens the person feels the tension and knows it's time to turn, then perhaps we could use the hourglass idea for the remainder of the course.

[macster]

I see what you meant at the end of your previous post now: the boards might only guide you as far as destination 1 and after the L/R turn you would need a completely different stragegy/ mechanism to guage distance and direction to reach the prize. Well that is sneaky!
I think you'll figure out how to get the 2nd distance Ok but getting a perfect 90 degree turn and maintaing correct direction w/out the boards is the real challenge. Sorry but you'll need someone with clever option installed as standard (I part time and wing these kinds of things a lot - know wad I mean? :cool: )

[chickenhawk]

If the walker knows which way to turn all he has to know is how many feet to the turn, will the rest of the team know the distance? How much time do you have after the walker goes into the booth?

[mwe-maxxowner]

The rest of the team will know the distance, but the walker may not know in any way. When the walker goes into the booth the team and walker must be ready I'm pretty sure.

[chickenhawk]

It says you can't tell him maybe you could come up with some other way to let him know how far it is.Maybe you could write the ditance in braille? Thats how blind people read.

[mwe-maxxowner]

Yeah, I know what braile is lol, pretty sure if they figured out that's what we were doing we'd get a zero. If they suspect anything they'll have a professor go through the course with our device.

[chickenhawk]

oh well , guess there is a reason i'm not an engineer. Good luck , let us know what the answer is and how well you do.