According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 2.2 billion people worldwide are blind or visually impaired.
That’s 28% of the global population.
Emerging apps — and walking canes — can provide aid to those with vision loss, but unexpected factors (like cracked asphalt, street trash and furniture, and construction hazards) can make a simple city walk incredibly dangerous.
And although guide dogs provide an invaluable service to people who experience blindness, they can be expensive, with some costing upwards of $50,000.
Fortunately, Orlando Science School high schooler Tiffani Gay invented a solution that could dramatically improve the lives of people with vision loss.
Her innovative headset sends vibrational warnings to the users to communicate obstacles — and she’s setting the price tag at $200.
In an interview with Florida’s Fourth Estate, Gay talked about her invention, as well as the inspiration behind her groundbreaking design.
“What I developed was a LiDAR [Light Detection and Ranging] navigational system to help people who are visually impaired,” Gay explained to podcast hosts Ginger Gadsden and Matt Austin.
“This idea stemmed from experience with a family friend who had a visual impairment, and I watched as her vision degenerated over time,” she continued.
“I wanted to develop a device that was able to help people with visual impairments adapt to their environment through a way that was really comfortable to me: electronics.”
Gay’s invention uses LiDAR sensors — laser-based technology implemented in most modern cars — to topographically detect, identify, and categorize objects in its environment.
“Those sensors are replicating human vision,” she said.
Using haptic feedback, the sensors on the brim of the visor vibrate according to how close the user is to an oncoming obstacle.
“So if someone is getting close to an obstacle, it will start to vibrate in that region of their head,” Gay explained.
In total, Gay created 25 iterations of her model before she submitted her latest product to multiple STEM competitions around the world.
The last year has served as a victory lap for Gay, who finished fourth at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and took home the gold at the Taiwan International Science Fair.
The sky’s the limit for the 16-year-old, who says she’s in constant communication with potential investors and engineers.
“I’m getting replies from inventors in Switzerland, and inventors here locally, asking to collaborate on a host of different projects,” Gay said in a follow-up interview for Florida’s Fourth Estate.
And she’s already made huge progress on her next big project: a way to protect animals from oil spills.
That latest invention — an electromagnetic system capable of separating oil from water — scored her another award at the Regeneron ISEF this year.
“Crude oil spills destroy shorelines, imbalance ecosystems, and have detrimental economic impacts,” The Regeneron ISEF judges wrote.
“The device successfully met engineering goals by introducing a novel method of oil spill removal using electromagnetics.”
When it comes to her academic future, Gay is teetering between Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology — but she’s in no rush to speed up the clock and hurry to college.
In fact, in spite of her busy schedule and phone calls from Switzerland, she’s taken on a new role as a mentor at her local elementary school working with Girls Who Code, a nonprofit program that teaches STEM skills to young girls.
Most of her students — who range from second to fourth grade — were shy at first. But as Gay kept returning, with assorted robots in tow, she saw them light up with excitement.
“As the months passed, I watched them become more interactive with the classroom,” Gay said with pride.
Header images via Tiffani Gay / Anna Gay
