NTUST visual aid wins iF Student Design Award

2015/06/09

An assisted orientation system for the visually impaired created by a team of students from Taipei City-based National Taiwan University of Science and Technology is winner of a 2015 iF Student Design Award.

Using radio-frequency identification technology, the system transmits location-related data via Bluetooth-enabled earphones as the user touches orientation modules on the ground with a cane.

NTUST team member Ma Hui-chuan said the idea originated from a personal experience when her dog scared a sight-challenged pedestrian off the guide tiles on the sidewalk. “By embedding RFID location-tracking tags in the tiles, the system allows visually impaired users to navigate the urban environments on their own.”

The system, selected from 11,785 entries submitted by teams in 68 countries and territories, claimed first prize May 28 in the telecommunications category. It was one of the eight best designs at the awards, joining those from Austria, Germany, South Korea, Sweden, the U.K. and U.S.

Ma and teammates Chen Yan-jang, Lee Yin-kai and Wang Chih-hao shared prize money of 3,750 euros (US$4,163), as well as the honor of claiming one of the largest international design awards worldwide for young design talents.

According to the assessment of the 73-member judging panel, the creation boasts a “very simple design developed to build on and enhance an existing system.” It also enables visually impaired users to experience a “huge improvement in quality of life.”

Another student design from the NTUST also made the final list of top 100 at this year’s awards. The platform facilitates the learning of Mandarin phonetic alphabet through combining with Taiwan’s signature food.

On the strength of its latest showing at the awards, NTUST continued its run as the top design tertiary institution worldwide in the iF rankings for the fifth consecutive year.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=231253&ctNode=413)