MOSA’s Adaptive Cane to Encourage Persons with Vision Sensory Impairments to be More Independent

BEKASI (15 July 2021) – In accordance with the direction of Social Minister Tri Rismaharini, Kartini Center Temanggung developed a pilot project of an adaptive cane. This cane is equipped with various features to facilitate the daily activities of people with visual impairments.

Social Minister Risma emphasized that the Ministry of Social Affairs is committed to improving the welfare of the entire community, including people with disabilities. For the initial stage, adaptive cane are prepared for 200 people with visual impairments to help them to be more independent.

Social worker at Tan Miyat Center Bekasi, Tri Putri Kurnianingsih welcomed the innovation which is very useful for people with visual impairments.

"The current canes still have many weaknesses that they cannot help the user identify, for example, a puddle of water.  Sometimes they have to hit a wall or fall over," said Putri at Tan Miyat Center Bekasi, Wednesday (14/7/2021).

This adaptive cane can help visually impaired people to handle various obstacles so that they can be more independent in doing various daily activities.

"Alhamdulillah, it is a brilliant innovation and must be immediately disseminated to all visually impaired people on how to use it so that they can feel the benefits," she said.

The head of the adaptive cane pilot project, Juena Sitepu who accompanied the Kartini Center Temanggung team, stated that the assistive device would come in handy for people with visual impairments.

"In addition to the adaptive cane, we also develop sensor-equipped vest which is a package of assistive devices with many benefits for people with visual sensory impairment," said Juena.

A member of the Kartini Center Temanggung team, Windu Darojat, conveyed the details of the cane design and features that can function as an identity of a person with a visual impairment that can reduce the risk of accidents or injuries. This cane will also be useful in disaster conditions because it is equipped with various advanced features.

"The assembling process is carried out by people with physical disabilities, hearing impairment and speech disabilities, college students and a team of electronics experts," said Windu.

Broadly speaking, the cane device consists of two parts, the electronic module and the cane. The electronic module consists of various sensors that can detect dangerous smoke and gases, puddles of water, flames, and are equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) which is automatically connected to smartphone.

"The cane itself is an ordinary cane used by visually impaired people. But there are holes on the surface and a sensor is implanted to detect the distance and conditions around it and will respond quickly in the form of sound or vibration that can be felt and heard by the cane holder," he said.

Meanwhile, the electronic module has 5 modes, namely vibration, sound, vibration and light, sound and light, and panic button. The electronic module uses a battery that can be recharged using solar cells for about half a day or by charging like a normal cellphone for 2-3 hours. It can also be charged from the LED light, but it takes even longer.

"In the future, this adaptive cane as an innovation to help people with visual impairments will continue to be evaluated and developed to be more useful and adapt to their needs," he said.

Public Relations Bureau

Ministry of Social Affairs