IoT-Enabled Smart Shoes for Visually Impaired Navigation and Safety

Abstract

Visually impaired individuals face major mobility challenges due to difficulty in sensing obstacles, wet surfaces, and unsafe paths; traditional aids like white canes offer limited awareness and no remote emergency support. In overcoming this, there is a development of a smart shoe system named Pathfinder. It uses an ultrasonic sensor for the real-time detection of obstacles with vibration motor feedback and a soil moisture sensor that recognizes water surfaces and triggers a buzzer alert. All components in the system are controlled by an Arduino Uno and powered through a battery for safe and efficient operation. The system further integrates an ESP32 Wi-Fi module connected to a smartphone through the BlynkIoT app, hence enabling wireless monitoring. In this regard, an SOS button will be embedded within the shoes, and pressing this button will trigger instant notifications with precision latitude and longitude values captured from the NEO-6M GPS module. This way, users receive notifications through the application and receive an email with the location. These coordinates, when keyed into Google Maps, trace the person in distress accurately. Testing confirmed reliable obstacle detection and consistent wet surface sensing with successful live GPS-based SOS transmission. With its lightweight design and low power usage, Pathfinder is a practical wearable assistive solution to greater independence.