Chapter 52 White Cane

Collaborations are rarely finalized overnight. Even when the other party recognizes the immense value of a partnership, certain bureaucratic procedures must still be followed. This seems to be a common flaw among large enterprises, much like his previous experience working with Huijin.

However, while producing a massive batch of smart white canes single-handedly was impossible, could he not build a standalone prototype by himself?

With 3D printing technology being so advanced nowadays, and various sensors and microcontrollers readily available online, as long as the design and software adaptation were properly handled, it actually did not seem all that difficult, right?

He opened his laptop and briefly sorted through the list of required components.

The chip did not need to be exceptionally high-end; the main requirement was having diverse interfaces. Zhou Yun was not particularly well-versed in hardware, but a quick online search revealed plenty of options that fit the criteria.

To avoid the hassle of reordering in case of incompatibility or damage during the process, he ordered ten chips in one go.

Next came various sensors: ultrasonic ranging modules, infrared obstacle-avoidance sensors, vibration sensors, an inertial measurement unit, and some temperature and humidity sensors. Although he was not entirely sure if he would need all of them, buying a few of everything was better than finding something missing later, as express delivery took time.

The remainder consisted of miscellaneous parts such as small motors, indicator lights, and batteries.

As for how to assemble them, that was not an issue for Zhou Yun. Although he was not a student of electrical or mechanical engineering, his father used to be a factory electrician, leaving behind a complete set of tools at home.

As a child, he would often tinker with those tools to solder circuit boards for fun. His father never stopped him, but instead taught him how to use the equipment safely and correctly.

Speaking of which, one particular memory remained vividly etched in his mind.

When he was little, everyone played with toy racing cars powered by small electric motors. He loved taking the motors out to make makeshift electric fans, which eventually led him to a dangerously bold idea—one that, looking back now, was a true testament to youthful ignorance and fearlessness.

Because he was young at the time and knew nothing about physics, he had only a vague, hazy concept in his head: the more electrical power, the faster the motor spins.

If a single battery could make the motor spin so fast, what would happen if he plugged it straight into a wall outlet?

How pure and innocent children could be! Having the tools right at hand, Zhou Yun decided to give it a try. He cut off a plug from a cord and connected it to a small motor.

Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed the plug directly into the wall socket.

The outcome was entirely predictable.

With a loud bang, the lights went out!

Though he himself was unharmed, his household bore the brunt of it. That single plug-in instantly short-circuited the entire electrical system of his home.

It had nearly scared young Zhou Yun out of his wits. Looking back now, he really had been reckless; it was a miracle he hadn't been electrocuted.

Recalling childhood anecdotes, Zhou Yun couldn't help smiling and shaking his head.

Stripping away the outer casing, the total cost for these miscellaneous parts came to around six hundred yuan. And that was with Zhou Yun purchasing them individually; if he had access to a mature supply chain, the cost could easily be cut in half.

Express delivery services were still quite reliable; placing the order now meant they would likely arrive tomorrow.

In addition to these, he also needed to purchase a soldering iron, solder wire, flux, and various auxiliary tools for soldering.

Altogether, these supplies would cost another eight hundred to a thousand yuan. A few months ago, he certainly wouldn't have been able to afford it. However, the various consulting and freelance fees he had accumulated over the past few months had added up to a tidy sum.

A thousand yuan or so was just a drop in the bucket now.

As for professional software, paying for genuine licenses was entirely out of the question. Since he was only building a prototype and not using it for commercial purposes, pirated software would serve his needs just as well.

As for circuit design and embedded development, Zhou Yun had learned a thing or two as a computer science student. Combined with his current genius-level brain,

even if he wasn't exceptionally practiced, designing such a simple circuit was something he could easily handle.

After thinking it through carefully and confirming there were no omissions, Zhou Yun connected his laptop to the laboratory's desktop computer.

His little laptop was fine for watching videos and writing documents, but asking it to handle heavy design work was expecting too much.

However, before designing the circuit, there was one more thing that needed to be done: modeling.

Zhou Yun had never used industrial CAD software before, but he had experience with other 3D modeling programs, having even enrolled in specialized classes for software like 3Dmark and 3ds Max.

Back when he had just entered university, eager to find something productive to do, he came across an online advertisement for a modeling tutorial that claimed users could easily earn living expenses, and he had been lured right in.

He had excitedly believed that once he finished the course, he could make over ten thousand yuan a month. But when he actually completed the entire curriculum, he discovered there were simply no clients to be found.

Still, while he didn't make any money, he did pick up the skill of modeling. He had even crafted a few collectible figures for his own amusement—they couldn't be sold, but they were nice to look at.

Looked at that way, it was hard to say whether he had been scammed or not.

As for industrial modeling software, although there would be differences in the details, he at least had a foundational understanding. After watching a few tutorial videos, he realized it was largely the same concept, with no real differences in operation.

Within three or four hours, he had familiarized himself with the basic operations.

Checking the time, he saw it was already midnight.

Eager as he was to finish the smart cane quickly, he couldn't completely neglect his health.

Glancing at the newly created folder, Zhou Yun smiled helplessly. "Let's hope I can get this finished before heading back."

...

Over the next three consecutive days, he stayed holed up in his hotel room.

The air was thick with the scent of rosin and heated plastic, and his modest desk was neatly lined with soldering iron tips of various sizes, rolls of solder, resistors, capacitors, sensors, and more.

Yet the most eye-catching object was the smart cane resting horizontally across the desk, connected to the computer by a data cable.

Its main structure was formed by a light-gray 3D-printed shell with delicate, subtle layer lines tracing its surface. At the top was a small spherical cap, where a reserved USB port was located—for the user, this port had only one purpose: charging.

For Zhou Yun, however, he needed this port to debug the software side of the smart cane. He had even specially purchased a reasonably well-performing smartphone.

Since he couldn't modify the phone's operating system directly, and in order to ensure a rapid response to his needs, he simply wiped the original OS and wrote a simple "control panel" app to connect with the smart cane.

The sole function of this control panel was to process the data transmitted back by the smart cane and execute voice broadcasts. Consequently, apart from its Bluetooth and voice output capabilities, this "smartphone" was essentially no different from a brick at this point.

Right now, Zhou Yun was conducting the final simulation test to see if, under simulated real-world conditions, using the smartphone as a terminal could achieve the desired effects.

Watching the stream of data cascading continuously down the screen, he couldn't help feeling a tinge of tension.

Fortunately, after a few minutes, a line of prompt text popped up.

[Test Passed]