The Smart Hiking Stick is an assistive outdoor mobility device designed to help visually impaired hikers navigate more safely while also providing emergency monitoring and general trail utility. Traditional canes help detect obstacles at ground level, but they do not warn users about overhead hazards, changing weather, location risk, falls, or whether a solo walk has gone wrong. This design expands the familiar hiking stick into a connected safety platform.

The prototype uses two ultrasonic sensors, one angled upward and one downward, to detect obstacles at different heights. When an obstacle is detected, the stick plays audio tones whose pitch changes based on distance, allowing the user to learn direction and proximity without needing a screen. A GPS/GNSS module provides location, speed, distance-from-home, and elevation data. Voice commands allow the user to set home, ask for location or weather, start or end a walk, send a message, request help, or disable/enable sensors.

The stick also includes automated safety features. A geofence can be set around the user’s home location. When the user leaves, the device can automatically begin monitoring the walk; if the walk is not ended or extended within the expected time, it can send an alert with location data. Fall detection uses onboard motion sensing to identify possible falls and asks the user whether they are okay before escalating. Cellular/IoT connectivity through Blues Wireless enables alerts and messages even away from Wi-Fi, while weather API checks can warn of dangerous conditions.

The novelty is the combination of obstacle sensing, voice control, GPS/geofencing, fall detection, emergency messaging, and weather awareness in a single familiar mobility tool. It is not merely a smart cane or GPS tracker; it is an outdoor safety companion designed around accessibility.

The product could be manufactured using off-the-shelf sensors and microcontrollers, a weather-resistant enclosure, rechargeable battery, speaker, handle-mounted controls, and injection-molded or 3D-printed housings for early production. It would apply to visually impaired hikers, older adults, solo walkers, outdoor recreation programs, and caregivers who need a low-cost way to improve independence and safety.