BLIND AID : TRAVEL AID FOR BLIND

Visually impaired people face many problems in their day to day lives. Among them, outdoor navigation is one of the major concerns. The existing solutions based on Wireless Sensor Networks(WSN) and Global Positioning System (GPS) track ZigBee units or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags fixed on the navigation system. The issues pertaining to these solutions are as follows: (1) It is suitable only when the visually impaired person is commuting in a familiar environment; (2) The device provides only a one way communication; (3) Most of these instruments are heavy and sometimes costly. Preferable solution would be to make a system which is easy to carry and cheap. The objective of this paper is to break down the technological barriers, and to propose a system by developing an Android App which would help a visually impaired person while traveling via the public transport system like Bus. The proposed system uses an inbuilt feature of smart phone such as GPS location tracker to track the location of the user and Text to Speech converter. The system also integrates Google Speech to Text converter for capturing the voice input and converts them to text. This system recommends the requirement of installing a GPS module in buses for real time tracking. With minor modification, this App can also help older people for independent navigatio

Ergonomic Standards for Pedestrian Areas for Disabled People: Methodology and Sample Identification

This project is a TRRL research contract, the aim of which is to produce guidance on the design of pedestrian areas and footways for elderly and disabled people. The first part of the project was a literature review and consultation exercise, the objective of which was to identify key impediments for investigation. The second part of the project involved the detailed survey work on the key impediments. This Working Paper reports upon the development of the second part of the project and, in particular, upon the identification of the sample of disabled people to be used in the detailed interview and observation work. The sample identification involved contacting some 3000 disabled people listed in official disability registers, and 250 ablebodied people via on-street interviews. From the disabled sample approximately 500 people were interviewed in order to find out more about their disability and to assess the usefulness of a preliminary disability categorisation system; their activity rate; problems they experience in using pedestrian areas and footways; and their willingness to take part in further stages of the study. From the interviews, a sample of people in each of the revised categories, together with samples of the elderly and the ablebodied, were selected for an observation phase in which those involved were observed completing a movement distance exercise, and using different types of pedestrian facility, in central Leeds