Light Emitting Slipper to Assist People With Vision Impairment
By Kondrik, Jason; Krause, Joe; Mollendorf, Joseph C.; NSF 2006 Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons With Disabilities, pp. 140-141Publication Date: 2007
Description of a slipper equipped with lights to guide people with low vision while walking around the house at night. The light-emitting slipper, which was developed at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the State University of New York at Buffalo, incorporates three technical design features: a multi-source lighting system, a light focusing function for each slipper, and a power-management system. Each slipper provides three separate light sources located at the front of the sole to concentrate all of the light in front of the wearer. Each bulb is contained in a housing that also has a reflector; adjusting the angle of the bulb to the reflector results in varying light intensity. The circuit that powers the light sources also acts as a power management system which, with the aid of NAND gates connected to a phototransistor, ensures that the lights go on only when necessary. Three AAA batteries providing power to the circuit are secured in the heel of the slipper.
Published by: Creative Learning Press, Inc. (Website:http://www.creativelearningpress.com)
Link to text: http://nsf-pad.bme.uconn.edu/2006/Chapter10,SUNY%20Buffalo.pdf
ISBN: 1-931280-08-8
