2020 High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge finalist

1. Jesperson Inc.

2. Problem
There are over ten and a half million legally blind persons in the United Stated. The best solution we have to help these
people maneuver around an ever-changing world is a cane outstretched in front of them wiggling back and forth. While
using a cane it is estimated that you will still run into at least ten objects a day. Those who don't use a cane rely on a
seeing dog or someone with sight. Many of those who are blind are not even able to use modern technology such as
smartphones as they were originally intended; due to this any innovation in this market must be conveyed to the user
using other senses. With the technology that we have it could be reasonably inferred that those who are visually
impaired would be able to move around without having to be restrained by a seeing eye dog or a sighted person
however, this is not the case.

3. Solution
It is estimated that those who are born blind will spend $100,000 on surgeries to live as close to a normal life as possible.
My solution to this problem is a device that uses sonar and translates the distance of an object in front of you to audio
feedback. This will allow for those who are blind to maneuver without the use of a cane. This device gets mounted to a
hat and the user is able to discern how far in front of them an object is based on the time between each beep. The device
uses a custom Circuit Board and uses a micro controller programmed in C++. This device will cost approximately $10 to
manufacture; meaning that those who are not wealthy enough to train a guide dog or have a personal assistant will be
able to walk around freely.
Market
My product is in the category of health assistance. The target consumer would be anyone who is legally or partially blind.
Currently there is nothing like this product on the market, there is no other device that allows the blind to move around
in an unobstructed manner and be able to use both hands while only relying on themselves. With there being 10.5
million legally blind citizens in the US alone there is a large market available. BBC estimates that global blindness will
triple in the next 30 years meaning this is not a market that will disappear any time soon. Many of those who are blind
have one complaint in common "I can walk around with a cane but the top half of me is not as protected as bottom"-
reports NPR. Another market available would be the military, this device could be used to navigate in dark rooms.

4. Prototype