5,866 research outputs found

    A Wearable RFID-Based Navigation System for the Visually Impaired

    Full text link
    Recent studies have focused on developing advanced assistive devices to help blind or visually impaired people. Navigation is challenging for this community; however, developing a simple yet reliable navigation system is still an unmet need. This study targets the navigation problem and proposes a wearable assistive system. We developed a smart glove and shoe set based on radio-frequency identification technology to assist visually impaired people with navigation and orientation in indoor environments. The system enables the user to find the directions through audio feedback. To evaluate the device's performance, we designed a simple experimental setup. The proposed system has a simple structure and can be personalized according to the user's requirements. The results identified that the platform is reliable, power efficient, and accurate enough for indoor navigation.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, 3 table

    BlueEyes: using beacon and smart phone for visually impaired / blind people

    Get PDF
    There are currently few options for navigational aids for the blind and visually impaired (BVI) in large indoor and outdoor spaces. Such indoor and outdoor spaces can be difficult to navigate even for the general sighted population if they are disoriented due to unfamiliarity or other reasons. This paper presents an indoor wayfinding system called GuideBeacon for the blind, visually impaired, and disoriented (BVID) that assists people in navigating between any two points within indoor environments. The GuideBeacon system allows users equipped with smartphones to interact with low cost Bluetooth-based beacons deployed strategically within the indoor space of interest to navigate their surroundings. This paper describes the technical challenges faced in designing such a system, the design decisions made in building the current version of the GuideBeacon system, the solutions developed to meet the technical challenges, and results from the evaluation of the system. Results presented in this paper obtained from field testing GuideBeacon with BVI and sighted participants suggests that it can be used by the BVID for navigation in large indoor spaces independently and effectively. This paper presents novel structure for visually impaired/blind people using beacon and smart phone. The proposed structure is consisted of three parts. In the first part esp8266 module due to ultra-low power consumption, in the second part configurator application to configure these beacon and last part is mobile application to detect these beacons. The aim is to help visually impaired/blind people to knowledge the environment in which they live by. Three tests applied in real environment. The results show good performance for the suggested scheme help the visually impaired/blind people reach the desired devices location successfully without error. In conclusion, beacon and smart phone were a valid and reliable method to help the visually impaired/blind people to know the location of devices that are nearest from him in indoor and outdoor environment

    PERCEPT Indoor Navigation System for the Blind and Visually Impaired: Architecture and Experimentation

    Get PDF
    We introduce PERCEPT system, an indoor navigation system for the blind and visually impaired. PERCEPT will improve the quality of life and health of the visually impaired community by enabling independent living. Using PERCEPT, blind users will have independent access to public health facilities such as clinics, hospitals, and wellness centers. Access to healthcare facilities is crucial for this population due to the multiple health conditions that they face such as diabetes and its complications. PERCEPT system trials with 24 blind and visually impaired users in a multistory building show PERCEPT system effectiveness in providing appropriate navigation instructions to these users. The uniqueness of our system is that it is affordable and that its design follows orientation and mobility principles. We hope that PERCEPT will become a standard deployed in all indoor public spaces, especially in healthcare and wellness facilities

    Smartphone application for accessible navigation

    Get PDF
    Διπλωματική εργασία--Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2018.The main aim of this study is to investigate how the modern smartphone technology can assist people with visual impairments in indoor navigation tasks. We use the free and open indoor navigation service Anyplace, to design an indoor guidance system that is accessible, inexpensive, simple and user-friendly to different user groups disregarding their disabilities. The Android application that Anyplace offers, was extended and modified to serve also the needs of visually impaired users. The presented system works well with the assistive applications that Android platform offers and provides various ways for interaction between the user and the system. The system is communicating with Anyplace server to inform the user about the information of the surrounding environment and guide him/her to the desired place in the building with accessible messages. The application can process, specific pre-defined user commands and location information from existing QR labels in the building. This thesis is focusing on assisting the impaired users on indoor navigation tasks, but not on replacing the assistive means that the visually impaired user is already using. (e.g. long cane, guide dog) Experimental results show the ability of the system to effectively communicate with the user and assist him/her in way-finding tasks in the building of the University of Macedonia

    Інформаційна система навігації в приміщенні для людей з вадами зору

    Get PDF
    Робота містить 61 сторінку, 7 рисунків та 22 таблиці. Використано 21 джерело. Мета роботи: покращити взаємодію людей з вадами зору із світом та підвищити рівень інклюзивності громадських місць шляхом створення інформаційної системи навігації в приміщенні для людей з вадами зору. Визначені критерії якості для порівняння частин системи навігації в приміщенні. Проведено аналіз та порівняння алгоритмів навігації, пошуку найкоротшого шляху, відслідковування. Визначені вимоги до системи навігації в приміщенні. Проведений аналіз проблем, які виникають при побудові систем комп'ютерного зору. Проведено покращення частин навігації, що дозволяють бути їм більш стійкими до змінності зовнішнього середовища. Визначені межі використання інформаційної системи. Створена інформаційна система навігації в приміщенні для людей з вадами зору може бути використана, для підвищення інклюзивності громадських місць. Створений опис стартап-проекту на основі запропонованої інформаційної системи.The work contains 61 pages, 7 figures and 22 tables. 21 sources used. Purpose: improve the interaction of visually impaired people with the world and increase the level of inclusiveness of public places by creating an indoor navigation information system for visually impaired people. Quality criteria for comparing parts of the indoor navigation system are defined. The analysis and comparison of navigation algorithms, search of the shortest way, tracking are carried out. The requirements for the indoor navigation system are defined. The analysis of problems which arise during the construction of systems of computer vision is carried out. The navigation parts have been improved to make them more resistant to environmental variability. The limits of information system use are defined. Created indoor navigation information system for the visually impaired can be used to increase the inclusiveness of public places. The description of the startup project on the basis of the offered information system is created

    CDI-Type II: Collaborative Research: Cyber Enhancement of Spatial Cognition for the Visually Impaired

    Get PDF
    Wayfinding is an essential capability for any person who wishes to have an independent life-style. It requires successful execution of several tasks including navigation and object and place recognition, all of which necessitate accurate assessment of the surrounding environment. For a visually-impaired person these tasks may be exceedingly difficult to accomplish and there are risks associated with failure in any of these. Guide dogs and white canes are widely used for the purpose of navigation and environment sensing, respectively. The former, however, has costly and often prohibitive training requirements, while the latter can only provide cues about obstacles in one\u27s surroundings. Human performance on visual information dependent tasks can be improved by sensing which provides information and environmental cues, such as position, orientation, local geometry, object description, via the use of appropriate sensors and sensor fusion algorithms. Most work on wayfinding aids has focused on outdoor environments and has led to the development of speech-enabled GPS-based navigation systems that provide information describing streets, addresses and points of interest. In contrast, the limited technology that is available for indoor navigation requires significant modification to the building infrastructure, whose high cost has prevented its wide use. This proposal adopts a multi-faceted approach for solving the indoor navigation problem for people with limited vision. It leverages expertise from robotics, computer vision, and blind spatial cognition with behavioral studies on interface design to guide the discovery of information requirements and optimal delivery methods for an indoor navigation system. Designing perception and navigation algorithms, implemented on miniature-size commercially-available hardware, while explicitly considering the spatial cognition capabilities of the visually impaired, will lead to the development of indoor navigation systems that will assist blind people in their wayfinding tasks while facilitating cognitive-map development
    corecore