SLAM for Visually Impaired People: A Survey

In recent decades, several assistive technologies for visually impaired and blind (VIB) people have been developed to improve their ability to navigate independently and safely. At the same time, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) techniques have become sufficiently robust and efficient to be adopted in the development of assistive technologies. In this paper, we first report the results of an anonymous survey conducted with VIB people to understand their experience and needs; we focus on digital assistive technologies that help them with indoor and outdoor navigation. Then, we present a literature review of assistive technologies based on SLAM. We discuss proposed approaches and indicate their pros and cons. We conclude by presenting future opportunities and challenges in this domain.Comment: 26 pages, 5 tables, 3 figure

A Wearable RFID-Based Navigation System for the Visually Impaired

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

Wearable obstacle avoidance electronic travel aids for blind and visually impaired individuals : a systematic review

Background Wearable obstacle avoidance electronic travel aids (ETAs) have been developed to assist the safe displacement of blind and visually impaired individuals (BVIs) in indoor/outdoor spaces. This systematic review aimed to understand the strengths and weaknesses of existing ETAs in terms of hardware functionality, cost, and user experience. These elements may influence the usability of the ETAs and are valuable in guiding the development of superior ETAs in the future. Methods Formally published studies designing and developing the wearable obstacle avoidance ETAs were searched for from six databases from their inception to April 2023. The PRISMA 2020 and APISSER guidelines were followed. Results Eighty-nine studies were included for analysis, 41 of which were judged to be of moderate to high quality. Most wearable obstacle avoidance ETAs mainly depend on camera- and ultrasonic-based techniques to achieve perception of the environment. Acoustic feedback was the most common human-computer feedback form used by the ETAs. According to user experience, the efficacy and safety of the device was usually their primary concern. Conclusions Although many conceptualised ETAs have been designed to facilitate BVIs' independent navigation, most of these devices suffer from shortcomings. This is due to the nature and limitations of the various processors, environment detection techniques and human-computer feedback those ETAs are equipped with. Integrating multiple techniques and hardware into one ETA is a way to improve performance, but there is still a need to address the discomfort of wearing the device and the high-cost. Developing an applicable systematic review guideline along with a credible quality assessment tool for these types of studies is also required. © 2013 IEEE

Review of substitutive assistive tools and technologies for people with visual impairments: recent advancements and prospects

YesThe development of many tools and technologies for people with visual impairment has become a major priority in the field of assistive technology research. However, many of these technology advancements have limitations in terms of the human aspects of the user experience (e.g., usability, learnability, and time to user adaptation) as well as difficulties in translating research prototypes into production. Also, there was no clear distinction between the assistive aids of adults and children, as well as between “partial impairment” and “total blindness”. As a result of these limitations, the produced aids have not gained much popularity and the intended users are still hesitant to utilise them. This paper presents a comprehensive review of substitutive interventions that aid in adapting to vision loss, centred on laboratory research studies to assess user-system interaction and system validation. Depending on the primary cueing feedback signal offered to the user, these technology aids are categorized as visual, haptics, or auditory-based aids. The context of use, cueing feedback signals, and participation of visually impaired people in the evaluation are all considered while discussing these aids. Based on the findings, a set of recommendations is suggested to assist the scientific community in addressing persisting challenges and restrictions faced by both the totally blind and partially sighted people

Assistive Systems for the Visually Impaired Based on Image Processing

In this chapter, we proposed three assistive systems for visually impaired individuals based on image processing: Kinect cane system, Kinect goggle system, and light checking system. The Kinect cane system can detect obstacles of various sizes and also recognize objects such as seats. A visually impaired user is notified of the results of detection and recognition by means of vibration feedback. The Kinect goggle system is another type of wearable system, and can make user’s hands free. The light checking system is implemented as an application for a smartphone, and can tell a visually impaired user the ON/OFF states of room lights and elevator button lights. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed systems are effective in helping visually impaired individuals in everyday environments

Analysis of Navigation Assistants for Blind and Visually Impaired People: A Systematic Review

Over the last few decades, the development in the field of navigation and routing devices has become a hindering task for the researchers to develop smart and intelligent guiding mechanism at indoor and outdoor locations for blind and visually impaired people (BVIPs). The existing research need to be analysed from a historical perception including early research on the first electronic travel aids to the use of modern artificial vision models for the navigation of BVIPs. Diverse approaches such as: e-cane or guide dog, infrared-based cane, laser based walker and many others are proposed for the navigation of BVIPs. But most of these techniques have limitations such as: infrared and ultrasonic based assistance has short range capacities for object detection. While laser based assistance can harm other people if it directly hit them on their eyes or any other part of the body. These trade-offs are critical to bring this technology in practice.To systematically assess, analyze, and identify the primary studies in this specialized field and provide an overview of the trends and empirical evidence in the proposed field. This systematic research work is performed by defining a set of relevant keywords, formulating four research questions, defining selection criteria for the articles, and synthesizing the empirical evidence in this area. Our pool of studies include 191 most relevant articles to the proposed field reported between 2011 and 2020 (a portion of 2020 is included). This systematic mapping will help the researchers, engineers, and practitioners to make more authentic decisions for finding gaps in the available navigation assistants and suggest a new and enhanced smart assistant application accordingly to ensure safety and accurate guidance of the BVIPs. This research work have several implications in particular the impact of reducing fatalities and major injuries of BVIPs.Qatar University [IRCC-2020-009]

Image recognition-based architecture to enhance inclusive mobility of visually impaired people in smart and urban environments

The demographic growth that we have witnessed in recent years, which is expected to increase in the years to come, raises emerging challenges worldwide regarding urban mobility, both in transport and pedestrian movement. The sustainable development of cities is also intrinsically linked to urban planning and mobility strategies. The tasks of navigation and orientation in cities are something that we resort to today with great frequency, especially in unknown cities and places. Current navigation solutions refer to the precision aspect as a big challenge, especially between buildings in city centers. In this paper, we focus on the segment of visually impaired people and how they can obtain information about where they are when, for some reason, they have lost their orientation. Of course, the challenges are different and much more challenging in this situation and with this population segment. GPS, a technique widely used for navigation in outdoor environments, does not have the precision we need or the most beneficial type of content because the information that a visually impaired person needs when lost is not the name of the street or the coordinates but a reference point. Therefore, this paper includes the proposal of a conceptual architecture for outdoor positioning of visually impaired people using the Landmark Positioning approach.5311-8814-F0ED | Sara Maria da Cruz Maia de Oliveira PaivaN/

Comparative analysis of computer-vision and BLE technology based indoor navigation systems for people with visual impairments

Background: Considerable number of indoor navigation systems has been proposed to augment people with visual impairments (VI) about their surroundings. These systems leverage several technologies, such as computer-vision, Bluetooth low energy (BLE), and other techniques to estimate the position of a user in indoor areas. Computer-vision based systems use several techniques including matching pictures, classifying captured images, recognizing visual objects or visual markers. BLE based system utilizes BLE beacons attached in the indoor areas as the source of the radio frequency signal to localize the position of the user. Methods: In this paper, we examine the performance and usability of two computer-vision based systems and BLE-based system. The first system is computer-vision based system, called CamNav that uses a trained deep learning model to recognize locations, and the second system, called QRNav, that utilizes visual markers (QR codes) to determine locations. A field test with 10 blindfolded users has been conducted while using the three navigation systems. Results: The obtained results from navigation experiment and feedback from blindfolded users show that QRNav and CamNav system is more efficient than BLE based system in terms of accuracy and usability. The error occurred in BLE based application is more than 30% compared to computer vision based systems including CamNav and QRNav. Conclusions: The developed navigation systems are able to provide reliable assistance for the participants during real time experiments. Some of the participants took minimal external assistance while moving through the junctions in the corridor areas. Computer vision technology demonstrated its superiority over BLE technology in assistive systems for people with visual impairments. - 2019 The Author(s).Scopu

Object Recognition Using Perspective Glass For Blind/Visually Impaired

Perspective glass is wearable pair of glass which is designed for blind people which helps them in resolving a major difficulty they face such as identifying the objects or obstacles present before them during walking. The Perspective glass consists of a raspberry pi board, 5mpcamera, ultrasonic sensors, buzzer, headphone, power source. This glass is controlled by a Power button which when pushed ON, will take pictures of the surroundings with respect to the position of the person wearing it. The clarity and the resolution of the picture purely reside on the camera used. The captured information is transferred to the application software which is manually built with the help of Fire Base application. The transferred data is then analyzed with the help of library files that are interfaced to the application via Neural Network “Tensor Flow”. Finally the captured image is recognized with the help of Tensor Flow, and the information regarding the object is given out as a voice output to the person via speaker/headphones. All the components are interfaced to the Raspberry pi board which act as the central processing unit. It has the overall control on this setup. In addition to that an Ultrasonic Sensor is connected to the setup which when sensing an obstacle within a particular distancze of 3 meter, will produce a buzzer sound instantly giving a caution alert to the blind person. The overall setup is powered through an external power source (power bank). These Smart Glasses for Blind people is a portable device, easy to use, light weight, and user friendly. These glasses could easily guide the blind people and help them in better handling of obstacles.