{"id":10123,"date":"2025-05-08T12:34:52","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T15:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solvefortomorrowlatam.com\/pratica\/com-tecnologia-assistiva-estudantes-criam-smartwatch-para-inclusao-social\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T19:37:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T22:37:32","slug":"com-tecnologia-assistiva-estudantes-criam-smartwatch-para-inclusao-social","status":"publish","type":"pratica","link":"https:\/\/solvefortomorrowlatam.com\/en\/case\/com-tecnologia-assistiva-estudantes-criam-smartwatch-para-inclusao-social\/","title":{"rendered":"With assistive technology, students create a smartwatch for social inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Other than just passing tests to move up a grade, school can be a creation center for the benefit of society. And this is possible to encourage by promoting STEM<\/a> (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) projects focused on social inclusion<\/a>. That\u2019s what the team behind the \u201cFocus\u201d project did. They created an assistive technology device aimed at improving the quality of life for people with disabilities. The innovation is a kind of smartwatch that helps people with low or no vision, to move around more safely and easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The device helps users find specific locations and to avoid obstacles using voice commands. The project won the Popular Vote in Solve for Tomorrow Bolivia 2024<\/a> and was implemented in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the country\u2019s most populous city. Five students from the fourth year of secondary school took part \u2014 the penultimate year of compulsory schooling. Their mentor was Juan Juaniquina, a mathematics teacher for other grades, who had also taught them in the past \u2014 which is why they sought him out when preparing for Solve for Tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school they attend, part of the Uni\u00f3n Fe y Alegr\u00eda<\/em> network, is committed to educating students in scientific knowledge alongside human values, aiming to form people capable of understanding and interpreting today\u2019s society. Familiar with such topics, when the team decided to develop a project for Solve for Tomorrow, they planned to design a device focused on people with visual impairments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step, during the Empathy<\/a> stage of the project journey<\/a>, was to analyze the pros and cons of assistive technology. \u201cAll of us had already encountered people with visual impairments in our lives \u2014 whether family members, friends, or neighbors. So, we shared personal experiences. I myself lived with a blind person, and I witnessed the limitations they faced daily,\u201d recalls the teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But those outside perspectives were not enough. They turned to a local institution that works with this community to deepen their knowledge. In their conversations, they reflected on the various ways someone might become visually impaired \u2014 either genetically or through accidents \u2014 and the different degrees of vision loss. \u201cI think what impacted us most were the stories of sudden vision loss. People described how they felt their freedom slipping away and how they didn\u2019t want to become a burden to their families,\u201d the teacher remembers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also discovered that although assistive devices exist to help with mobility and independence, they are not widely accessible in Bolivia. Moreover, local urban planning is rarely inclusive \u2014 with uneven streets and little tactile signage, for instance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n Eureka Moment! <\/h5>\n

The initial idea was to build a device that would be easy to handle and hard to lose. They considered creating a necklace, but it would have been too large to include all necessary features. They then started looking at objects worn on the body and noticed smartwatches. These are worn on the wrist and, besides showing the time, can make calls, send messages, and connect to smartphones. \u201cBut the smartwatch relies heavily on the visual screen, and we needed to make it more tactile,\u201d the teacher pointed out, kicking off the next stages of the project.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

Talking to people with visual impairments was essential. We slowly brainstormed together about what features could or couldn\u2019t work, adds Juaniquina.
<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Challenges in creating the assistive technology<\/strong>
<\/span><\/div><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the end, the prototype<\/a> was designed to ensure a good user experience<\/a>. A watch is practical, worn on the body, and unlikely to get lost or stolen. It includes four analog buttons: two for volume control, one for activating voice commands, and another for sharing the user\u2019s location for safety. The buttons have Braille inscriptions so users can understand the commands through touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Braille teacher from the partner institution supported the Braille writing and suggested valuable improvements, such as replacing letters with recognizable symbols like a microphone. Samsung mentors, in turn, provided guidance in engineering and helped with selecting the right materials. The team also consulted programming experts to refine the technical aspects. However, due to limited access to electronic components in their region, the device remained in an analog version.On the other hand, the system software was developed and tested. They used a free application called App Inventor \u2014 intuitive and easy to use. The next step in completing the prototype would be to connect Arduino<\/a> boards, sensors, and a GPS module to the watch and to integrate it with the software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seis
The team developed an assistive smartwatch that is accessible and optimized to improve mobility and autonomy for people with visual impairments.
<\/span><\/div>

<\/h3>
<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Presenting the project to the world<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the project, the students actively used social media. First, to share information and raise awareness about the inclusion of people with visual impairments<\/a>. Later, they launched a virtual and in-person mobilization campaign that helped them win the Popular Vote in Solve for Tomorrow Bolivia. They spoke to everyone they knew, visited classrooms to ask for support, and had help from a partner organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entire experience helped the students develop soft skills<\/a>, such as public speaking and team organization. \u201cNone of us ever expected to be part of a program like this, trying to program something. Our school doesn\u2019t offer programming classes \u2014 it was all new. We learned together and realized that to make it work, we needed patience and close attention to each step,\u201d says Juaniquina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n Explaining! <\/h5>\n

A 2022 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF reveals that <\/span>over 2.5 billion people need one or more assistive products<\/span><\/a> \u2014 such as wheelchairs, hearing aids, or communication and cognition support apps. However, nearly 1 billion people lack access to these technologies \u2014 especially in low- and middle-income countries, where access is extremely limited, reaching only 3% of people who need these tools to live.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students put programming and technology into practice after empathizing with the challenges faced by people with visual impairments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10120,"template":"","tags":[],"eixo_tematico":[159],"area_stem":[160,161,162],"ano_projeto":[1260],"posicao_projeto":[234],"pais_projeto":[916],"area_conhecimento":[930,923],"class_list":["post-10123","pratica","type-pratica","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","eixo_tematico-sociedade-justa-en","area_stem-engenharia-en","area_stem-matematica-en","area_stem-tecnologia-en","ano_projeto-1260","posicao_projeto-voto-popular-en","pais_projeto-bolivia-en","area_conhecimento-mecanica-en","area_conhecimento-sociologia-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAssistive technology: Bolivian students create inclusive smartwatch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Get to know the assistive technology developed by students: a smartwatch that enhances inclusion and independence for the visually impaired.\" 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