A young Mozambican created an automated guidance and mobility system for visually impaired people, which should help with their social inclusion, through their independence from companions.
The technology was created by Carlos Mondlane, an aficionado of digital systems and former student of Computer Engineering at the Zambeze University (UniZambeze).
The project comprises an ultrasonic sensor connected to protective goggles, capable of identifying various obstacles and issuing quick signals to the user.
Speaking to NOTÍCIAS, the creator of this system, baptized as KUVONA (to see, in chagana), said that the main objective of his invention is to give greater independence to people with visual impairments to move around safely.
"This is an answer for our brothers with vision problems. This solution is a helping mechanism to reduce collisions that they have in their daily lives and will give them greater autonomy when walking on the road.", said.
According to Mondlane, the glasses with a sensor will help to identify objects from different angles, whose detection through the white cane proves to be ineffective or not assertive to certain obstacles in front of the person.
“The cane is important, but it cannot detect obstacles off the ground, for example tree branches or drying wires that could hit the person before this instrument can identify them.”, he underlined, adding that KUVONA looks at several defined angles for user comfort. However, Mondlane hopes to obtain funding to purchase the components to continue to improve the system and build a workshop with the needs of producing these glasses.
The Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired of Mozambique (ACAMO), in turn, welcomes the project that will revolutionize the way they walk, providing them with greater security and independence.
According to the president of the Visually Impaired Women's Committee, Isaura Baptista, the development of this technology is a gain because it will be used in favor of these people with special needs and will give them more prestige.
It should be noted that this project won the Municipal Youth award, within the scope of the celebrations of the 135th anniversary of Maputo City, as well as represented Mozambique at the 15th Session of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPDP), in the United States of America.
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