We invented first ever sensor cane

The Mongolian National Broadcaster, the MNB, launched a 6-month TV contest “Young Inventor” among Mongolian children and youth to develop creative, innovative mentality and engineering skills.S.Bat-Ochir, the winner of Young Inventor Competition spoke to the media about his invention.


Congratulations on taking the first place in the competition.

Why did you decide to take part in the competition Young Inventor?


-Thank you. The Competition Young Inventor has been organized successfully for half a year. Teachers of the Information Technology Faculty at the National University of Mongolia organized the contest. I study in NUM and I decided to challenge myself in the contest at the same time I decided to be involved in the competition to support it.


-How many inventions did you enter in the contest?


-At first I aimed to invent a water sensor device in order to improve the walking stick for blind people. The other invention that I took to the contest is to make a garage door open and close automatically. The sensor walking stick passed the first level of the contest but the other did not. So I started to work on the walking stick to make it more effective. With the results of 6 months effort I could win first place. This is encouraging me to invent more things.


-Did you attend the Young Inventor Competition last year?


-I took part in last year’s contest working with the invention named “Electronic restaurant”.


-How many people worked on creating the sensor walking stick?


-I worked on it with my classmate G.Munkhbat. Our families and some organisations supported us and gave certain help.


-The creations which compete in the contest were made up with common, inexpensive materials. How much money was spent on creating one sensor walking stick?


-In total, 57,000 MNT was spent on buying the materials for one walking stick. Further, the sensor cane will be sold with 25% margin or at 52,000 MNT. I think it is reasonable price.


-Does this mean that it has started to be sold? How many canes have you made?


-The sensor walking sticks are not yet for sale. The Mongolian National Federation of the Blind (MNFB) offered to cooperate we us and asked us to improve the quality of the stick.


-What are your thoughts about the market for the sensor cane in Mongolia?


-2000 to 3000 canes are bought a year in Mongolia. We are intending to fill the market space for canes. We are trying to support Mongolian blind people as much as possible. MNFB informed me that we have a chance to put the sensor cane onto the global market in the future.


-How different is your cane in comparison with the cane that was made overseas?


-Mongolia imports simple walking sticks. This is the first time that walking sticks that detect water and barriers have been invented. Walking sticks with simple sensors are sold for around USD 1000 internationally. So I hope we will have success in the global market.


-Did you face any difficulties in creating the sensor cane?


-Nothing is easy. Six months ago I only had the idea of sensor walking stick. I thought a long time on how to realize my idea and step by step it has developed into today’s situation. The most difficult thing was to erect sensor chips in the handle area and make the cover of the handle. We tried many materials to cover the handle.


-How many creations were devoted for the blind among the 400 inventions that competed in the contest?


-Last year there were no inventions that were devoted for blind people. So I thought it would be more beneficial if I created something that was designated for blind people. The idea came into my mind when I thought about how to help disabled, deaf and blind people.


-Could you please explain the structure of sensor walking stick?


-The cane consists of parts such as a battery cover, vibrating device, and an on switch, ultrasound detector and water detector. The advantage of the cane is it prevents one from walking over a puddle and it helps one to find the bus door and detects barriers. If a person faces barriers the cane gives a signal through the speaker and when a person approaches water or a puddle it vibrates. The sensor cane is devoted for blind and people who have poor eyesight.


-Where are you from? Why did you enter this sector?


-I came from Dariganga soum, Sukhbaatar province. My parents are herders. When I was in high school I was interested in maths and physics. However, although I am the son of herders I barely know about cattle and provincial life. I was obsessed with education and books. I chose the profession of electronic engineer accidentally. I was thinking to enrol in the economy school but I couldn’t. Then I decided to study electronic engineering and I am an undergraduate student at the Information and Technology School at NUM.


-Did you expect to win the grand prize?


-When I started to participate in the contest I didn’t expect to win any places, I just wanted to challenge myself. But in the contest level by level, I started to dream I would win the contest. In the last stage, a ground breaking machine named MT was the strongest concurrent. This machine took the second place.



Many good creations competed in the contest such as B.Otgonjargal’s “Harvest carrying device”, G.Batdorj’s “Lego bricks” and Ts.Orgilbold’s “Snow cleaner”.


-What do you plan to do with 5 million MNT you won? Will you designate it for making more walking sticks?


-I will spend this money on making the sensor cane final product. I think this money will be spent on buying materials and pieces from Beijing factories. If I have the chance, I will establish a small scale industry.


-NUM promised to grant the scholarship to you to obtain a qualification in international universities. Do you think you will upgrade your education in the future?


-I have the intention to work in my motherland and devote my knowledge to my home country. I will spend my attention and my time on my newly created invention. I aim to help as many blind people as possible by making many canes and putting them the world market.


-Did you receive any job offers since you won the Young Inventor contest?


-Mongolian Leading Airline Eznis Airways LLC offered to employ me as an engineer after educating me overseas for one year.

Source : UB Post

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