Photo source: Suspilne Zhytomyr / Antonina Hlushchenko
A student at Yosypivka Gymnasium in the Chopovychi community of Zhytomyr region, Oleksandra Maksymenko, has created a smart bracelet for people with visual impairments.
Suspilne Zhytomyr reported that the device uses an ultrasonic sensor to warn the user of obstacles via an audio signal, according to Rubryka.
What’s the problem?
Arkadii Petrovskyi, an IT teacher at Yosypivka Gymnasium, said the idea for the device emerged after he and his student looked at the price of similar bracelets available on the market. According to him, ready-made devices can cost tens of thousands of hryvnias.
Photo source: Suspilne Zhytomyr / Antonina Hlushchenko
What’s the solution?
That is why Oleksandra decided to create her own, much more affordable version.
How does it work?
Oleksandra is now 14 years old and studies at Yosypivka Gymnasium. She lives in the village of Shevchenkove, located several kilometers from the school.
According to the student, the smart bracelet, which she assembled herself from separately purchased components, is worn on the wrist and is designed to help people with full or partial vision loss move around more safely.
Photo source: Suspilne Zhytomyr / Antonina Hlushchenko
“The bracelet has a strap and a button that turns it on. If a person with a visual impairment or partial vision loss encounters an obstacle, such as a school desk or a table, a special sensor sends out an audio signal,” Oleksandra Maksymenko said.
The invention earned the student an award at the nationwide competition for student research projects of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Photo source: Suspilne Zhytomyr / Antonina Hlushchenko
Oleksandra’s projects also include another technical invention — a laser toy for a kitten. From the outside, it looks like a wooden box with an Arduino board installed inside. The mechanism rotates the laser, directing light onto the walls, floor, and ceiling and encouraging the animal to play.
In May 2026, this project won a first-degree diploma at the regional stage of the nationwide ChildTechExpo exhibition and competition in the category “Games and toys with elements of electrical engineering.”
Photo source: Suspilne Zhytomyr / Antonina Hlushchenko
Oleksandra and her teacher are now working on a new project — an automated system for the school shelter.
The system is designed to record how many students and staff members enter the shelter and how many leave. They plan to display the data on a large monitor.
“We want to build an automated system in our gymnasium’s shelter that will count how many children and staff members enter it and how many people leave. The results will be displayed on a large monitor. That is our idea. I have now revealed it. We have already started implementing it. We have purchased the components for Arduino,” Arkadii Petrovskyi said.
The student’s mother, Tetiana Maksymenko, said her daughter does more than work on technical inventions. She also takes care of pets, rides a bicycle, draws, helps around the house, and does cheerleading.
Photo source: Suspilne Zhytomyr / Antonina Hlushchenko
According to Tetiana Maksymenko, the IT teacher was the first to notice Oleksandra’s talent for technical creativity and helped her develop it.
“If a person is talented, they are talented in everything. This is thanks to her IT teacher. He saw a talent for technology in my child, while I did not. To me, she is more home-oriented. She draws, helps me, and makes delicious pancakes. That is how I see her. I do not see her as a technology developer. But her teacher managed to see it and motivated her to develop this talent,” Tetiana Maksymenko said.
Background
It should be noted that teenager Vadym Dobrovolskyi developed a system that uses artificial intelligence to enable UAVs to switch to a frequency unaffected by electronic warfare.
It was also reported that schoolchildren in Chernihiv created a drone detection device that could help on the front line. The young inventors plan to make the device more durable and improve it based on feedback from the military, ensuring reliability and effectiveness in combat conditions.
