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Saturday, August 1, 2020

Student creates a robotic guide dog for visually impaired

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Charvi Trivedi
Charvi Trivedi
Western Europe

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Charvi Trivedi

Article Title

Student creates a robotic guide dog for visually impaired

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Global Views 360

Publication Date

August 1, 2020

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The prototype of handheld robotic guide dog

The prototype of handheld robotic guide dog | Source: Anthony Camu via Loughborough University

Anthony Camu, a final year Industrial Design and Technology student at Loughborough University is making headlines with his latest creation of a handheld robotic guide dog. This will be a great help to those people with visual impairment who might find it difficult to accommodate an actual guide dog in their homes.

The robot is named after the Titan goddess of light, ‘Theia’ and is shaped like a virtual gaming controller, which enthused Anthony to create this masterpiece in the first place. Theia listens to the user’s voice to lead them to their desired locations.

If the user has to go to some address (for eg. House number 4, 56th Street, Greenville Residency), they have to say ‘Hey Theia take me to House number 4, 56th Street, Greenville Residency*’. It will then process the actual data available online, like traffic density, and program the most secure route for the user to follow, quite similar to how GPS or satellite navigation works in our cars.

All the information is then communicated to the user via a machine built inside it, called a control moment gyroscope which uses the mechanism of ‘forced feedback’. These are used in spacecraft and their main function is to help in orientation purposes of the spacecraft, or in controlling the ‘spacecraft attitude’ using electric power.

This tiny built-in gyroscope physically moves the user’s hand in the direction they are supposed to go, thus giving them a feeling of being led by an actual guide dog. “The main intention was never to replace guide dogs, but instead to provide an alternative means of giving enhanced mobility options to visually impaired people” says Anthony Camu.

According to Mr. Camu, Theia will also be helpful in confronting challenging interactions like elevators or shops. While crossing a busy street, it will tend to ‘push back’ the users, cautioning them to be more sentient about their current surroundings. Moreover, Theia is quite pocket-friendly, costing about one-tenth the price of a real guide dog.

This tool will also contribute in imparting a sense of belonging and reduce the constant mental hassle and anxiety faced by the visually impaired population of the world. Since they are unable to assess their surroundings, it limits their outdoor movement. This will help them move in the outdoors more often and reduce stress while navigating the traffic on the road.

Anthony has created and experimented with many prototypes of Theia and some work is still needed to correct a few issues before the final launch his product in the market

However, he concluded that Theia has a promising future and it requires just a little more testing and research.“I know this is a grand vision, but I hope people can see the positive effects Theia could have on the blind community” he states.

*This address is fictional. Any similarity is purely coincidental.

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February 4, 2021 4:47 PM

Kitchen Garden: An unusual arsenal in Kenya’s fight against malnutrition

Vegetable gardens have been in vogue since long across the world as a hobby to source  some fresh vegetables for household consumption. However in Kenya, the government and citizens both have moved towards taking it to the next level.

Hassani Oyo, a musician and resident of Nairobi, Kenya, has started vertical bag gardening in the backyard of his home to grow exotic vegetables like cabbage, spinach and kale for his own use as well as for sales to his neighbours and local vegetable vendors. This low cost method of gardening uses minimal farming space and very less water.

Another gardening story emerges from Busia County in western Kenya. where a local community-based organization, Sustainable Income Generating Investment (SINGI) is promoting the use of Kitchen Gardens. SINGI in partnership with other organizations are actively involved in training farmer groups about healthy agricultural practices and sharpening their production skills.

Roselida Orodi, the chairperson of Esikoma Ushirika Farmers Self Help Group states that, “Most households produce enough vegetables for domestic consumption with a surplus which is usually sold to the local market and beyond”. The biggest advantage is that these vegetables are able to withstand high temperatures. During summer, when the demand increases, they are usually sold for higher prices to earn good profits.

Jessica Muhonje of Singingire vegetable farmers group, says that she sells vegetables worth 15 U.S dollars per day. With indigenous vegetables gaining popularity, she adds that, “People flock to my homestead to purchase the vegetables”.

Kenyan government has also launched the “One Million Kitchen Gardens Plan” for households across the country. Brainchild of Agriculture Chief Administrative Secretary, Anne Nyaga, the program aims to use kitchen gardens as a tool to achieve food security, fight malnutrition, and to deal with the food crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the initial phase kitchen garden kits were provided to 15,000 households of  Makueni county. “We would like to put emphasis on a balanced diet through these kits so that we can be able to boost our immunity and create an immunity that is able to fight COVID-19 and other diseases” says Anne Nyaga. She also adds, “The government is launching a campaign to establish kitchen vegetable gardens, we have issued guidelines to support both rural and urban dwellers with technologies for setting up within the resources available”.

These success stories inspire many others to join the kitchen garden bandwagon in Kenya. Setting up a kitchen garden is not tough, according to Mr. Oscar Ludelu, a landscaper and horticulturist. However, a few factors, like cost and what type of garden one needs is to be kept in mind before starting a kitchen garden.

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