HearingCar
As a part of the Georgia Tech Engineering For Social Innovation group, my team and I sought to create a device for the hearing impaired. Driving requires us to use all of our senses, not just our vision, and because of this, those with hearing disabilities are unable to experience the enjoyment and convenience of driving as safely as others. Our system seeks to display visually the vital aural information from the surroundings so those with hearing disabilities can drive safer than before. For this project, we partnered with the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind.
Our Partner
Our Partner
The Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind fosters a continuum of services for people of all ages with hearing or vision loss, including those with other disabilities including deafness and blindness, in the State of Idaho. The Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind is the center of educational expertise for these children, their families, and local education providers.
The Circuit
Our original plan involved using an Arduino uno, a microphone, and a simple 16 by 2 LCD screen to display a horn being heard. Throughout the design process we decided that it would be important to be able to distinguish more sounds such as sirens as well as being able to detect which direction the sound is coming from. After careful consideration, we decided to use an Arduino zero to measure the frequency and use a software defined bandpass filter to filter the frequencies or horns and sirens. The Arduino zero is connected to an Arduino Uno that is connected to two microphones and is programed to determine which direction the sound is coming from. Upon further analysis and discussion with our project partner: we found that a 16 by 2 black and white LCD screen would not be a sufficient method of communicating with the user. After much testing and debugging, we devised a way in which the HearingCar device would communicate with the user's using Bluetooth and displaying the warnings on a mobile application. The circuit generates a simple state machine that consists of states represented by a single digit 0-4. Each state represents a different type of sound and direction.This digit tells the mobile app which warning screen to display.
The Mobile App
Our mobile Application is written for the Android operating system using Java. Upon starting the app, the user is prompted to accept a warning about the dangers of distracted driving. Upon accepting, the user is then taken to the main screen . This screen provides him or her a plethora of information. The circular battery indicator shows the user how much battery power remains in the HearingCar device as both a percent and a visual fraction. The main screen also displays the number of left, right, and total warnings so that the user can gauge and adapt his or her driving. Upon receiving a number ranging from 0 to 4 from the circuit, the app will display a the corresponding warning screen for six seconds. In typical usage, the user's phone would be mounted to his or her car's dashboard in order to ensure maximum visibility.
The Team
Source Code
