Smart Walking Cane With Nine-Axis Sensors for Interactive Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing smartwatches are not interactive body detection devices, making it difficult to accurately assess the real-time status of elderly users, and there is a need for a smart walking cane with interactive detection capabilities to enable early awareness of the user's condition and reduce the risk of injury.
Innovation Solution
A smart walking cane equipped with a nine-axis inertial sensor, pressure sensor, and photoelectric sensor, which transmits data to a smart device via Bluetooth for analysis and alerts, including GPS tracking and communication features to notify contacts of abnormal conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a smartwatch is used to monitor physical condition, then real-time data collection is achieved, but interactive body detection capability is lacking
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a wrist-worn device (smartwatch) for detection, the invention inverts the approach by placing sensors in a cane that the elderly person holds and uses for support. This inversion allows for direct contact with the body (hand, arm, chest) enabling interactive detection while the person naturally uses the cane for walking assistance, thus solving both detection accuracy and ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The elderly person naturally uses the cane for walking support without needing to consciously operate it. The sensors in the cane automatically detect physical condition data during normal use, eliminating the need for separate operation or activation by the user, thus achieving ease of operation while maintaining detection capability
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are integrated into the smart cane, then detection capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The smart cane serves multiple functions: it provides walking support (traditional cane function) while simultaneously integrating multiple sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, pressure sensor, photoelectric sensor) to detect various physical parameters. This multi-functionality approach consolidates detection capabilities into a single device that the elderly person already needs for mobility, avoiding the need for separate wearable devices
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the detection functions of multiple different sensors into a single integrated system within the cane handle. By combining accelerometry, gyroscopy, magnetometry, pressure sensing, and photodetection into one unified device, the system achieves comprehensive physical condition monitoring while managing complexity through integration rather than separate components
3Reliability
If real-time monitoring is implemented, then user safety is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic sampling of physical condition data rather than continuous monitoring. The sensors take measurements at regular intervals during cane usage, which reduces energy consumption compared to continuous operation while still providing timely detection of abnormal conditions. The data is then transmitted periodically to the smartphone application
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces active power-consuming monitoring systems with passive detection during natural cane usage. The sensors detect physical parameters passively as the cane is naturally held and moved during walking, without requiring additional power for activation or operation beyond what is needed for basic sensor function and periodic data transmission
Data Source
AI summary
A smart walking cane may include a smart cane, a smart device, and a smart software. The smart cane has a cane body, and a cane handle is formed on the top of the cane body to be held by the user. The cane body comprises a nine-axis inertial sensor, a pressure sensor, and a photoelectric sensor. The nine-axis inertial sensor has a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, and a three-axis magnetometer, and the three-axis accelerometer is used to detect the gravitational acceleration of the smart cane along the X, Y, and Z axes, allowing for the detection of movement speed, step count, and whether the user's hand has tremors while using the smart cane.