Odisha Government empowers blind persons with NAVINAUT guidance
BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to make movement easy and obstacle-free for visually-impaired people, the state government has started distributing LiDAR-guided electronic assistive device NAVINAUT to them. The device can help them detect obstacles on the roads and alert them through vibrations.
Director of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities department Niyati Patnaik on Friday provided these devices to 60 blind people at a camp in the city. Developed by Hyderabad-based startup Alien Innovations, founded by T Ravi Kiran, the device acts like a torch, helping visually-impaired persons navigate through roads safely. The compact device will detect impediments on the roads early, sending vibration alerts to the user.
Speaking on the occasion, Kiran said the mobility device is a rechargeable battery-powered device and will work for about a month on a single charge. It uses modern laser-guided LiDAR technology through which the user can easily know the distance and height of the obstacle.
While the device has already been put to use in states like Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh, it is being provided to blind persons in Odisha for the first time. They will be trained in using them by the department.
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