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

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

Integrating Haptic Feedback into Mobile Location Based Services

Haptics is a feedback technology that takes advantage of the human sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, and/or motions to a haptic-enabled device such as a mobile phone. Historically, human-computer interaction has been visual - text and images on the screen. Haptic feedback can be an important additional method especially in Mobile Location Based Services such as knowledge discovery, pedestrian navigation and notification systems. A knowledge discovery system called the Haptic GeoWand is a low interaction system that allows users to query geo-tagged data around them by using a point-and-scan technique with their mobile device. Haptic Pedestrian is a navigation system for walkers. Four prototypes have been developed classified according to the user’s guidance requirements, the user type (based on spatial skills), and overall system complexity. Haptic Transit is a notification system that provides spatial information to the users of public transport. In all these systems, haptic feedback is used to convey information about location, orientation, density and distance by use of the vibration alarm with varying frequencies and patterns to help understand the physical environment. Trials elicited positive responses from the users who see benefit in being provided with a “heads up” approach to mobile navigation. Results from a memory recall test show that the users of haptic feedback for navigation had better memory recall of the region traversed than the users of landmark images. Haptics integrated into a multi-modal navigation system provides more usable, less distracting but more effective interaction than conventional systems. Enhancements to the current work could include integration of contextual information, detailed large-scale user trials and the exploration of using haptics within confined indoor spaces

A platform supporting the work of operators of tele-assistance centers for navigation of visually impaired people

Cílem této práce je navrhnout, vytvořit a otestovat prototypy platformy pro podporu práce operátorů tele-asistenčních center pro zrakově postižené, která jim má usnadnit práci a pomoci vyřešit problémy objevené při pozorování v Navigačním centru SONS. Zaměřili jsem se především na optimalizaci pracovního postupu operátora při vytváření detailních popisů tras a umístění většiny zdrojů informací do jednoho přístupového bodu. V průběhu práce na projektu jsme definovali případy užití, podle nichž jsem postupně vytvořili storyboardy, papírové návrhy a low-fidelity prototypy, které byly průběžně testovány a konzultovány s operátorem a dalšími odborníky. V závěrečné fázi projektu byl naimplementován high-fidelity prototyp v podobě webové aplikace demonstrující většinu funkcionalit platformy. Tato aplikace a výsledky z jejího testování i testování jejích předchůdců mohou posloužit jako zdroj dat v dalších fázích projektu.The aim of this thesis is to design, create and test a prototype of a platform to support the work of operators of tele-assistance centers for visually impaired people, which will simplify their work and help to solve the problems discovered during the observation in the SONS Navigation Center. We primarily focused on optimizing the operator's workflow when creating detailed route descriptions and aggregating most of the information sources to one access point. During the project, we have defined use cases, according to which we gradually created storyboards, paper designs and low-fidelity prototypes, which were continuously tested and consulted with the operator and other experts. In the final phase of the project, a high-fidelity prototype has been implemented in the form of a web application that demonstrates most of the functionalities of the platform. This application, its test result and test results of its predecessors can serve as a data source in the next phase of the project

スマートフォンを用いた視覚障碍者向け移動支援システムアーキテクチャに関する研究

学位の種別: 課程博士審査委員会委員 : （主査）東京大学教授 坂村 健, 東京大学教授 越塚 登, 東京大学教授 暦本 純一, 東京大学教授 中尾 彰宏, 東京大学教授 石川 徹University of Tokyo(東京大学

公共空間における視覚障害者の自立移動支援

早大学位記番号:新9136早稲田大

GPS Technology to Aid the Blind and Partially Sighted in Copenhagen, Denmark

This project, jointly sponsored in Copenhagen by the Danish Association of the Blind (DBS) and the Euman Company, assessed the feasibility of using Euman\u27s LifePilot GPS technology for blind and partially sighted individuals. After conducting literature research as well as surveys and focus groups, the team concluded that there is a potential for Euman technology, currently being developed, and an overall need for navigational aids, and recommended a variety of features for a GPS based device that would prove useful in the visually impaired community

Wonder Vision-A Hybrid Way-finding System to assist people with Visual Impairment

We use multi-sensory information to find our ways around environments. Among these, vision plays a crucial part in way-finding tasks, such as perceiving landmarks and layouts. People with impaired vision may find it difficult to move around in unfamiliar environments because they are unable to use their eyesight to capture critical information. Limiting vision can affect how people interact with their environment, especially for navigation. Individuals with varying degrees of vision will require a different level of way-finding aids. Blind people rely heavily on white canes, whereas low-vision patients could choose from magnifiers for amplifying signs, or even GPS mobile applications to acquire knowledge before their arrival. The purpose of this study is to investigate the in-situ challenges of way-finding for persons with visual impairments. With the methodologies of Research through Design (RTD) and User-centered Design (UCD), I conducted online user research and created a series of iterative prototypes towards a final one: Wonder Vision. It is a hybrid way-finding system that combines Augmented Reality (AR) and Voice User Interface (VUI) to assist people with visual impairments. The descriptive evaluation method suggests Wonder Vision as a possible solution for helping people with visual impairments to find their way toward their goals

Precise positioning in real-time using GPS-RTK signal for visually impaired people navigation system

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 24/9/2010.This thesis presents the research carried out to investigate and achieve highly reliable and accurate navigation system of guidance for visually impaired pedestrians. The main aim with this PhD project has been to identify the limits and insufficiencies in utilising Network Real-Time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite Systems (NRTK GNSS) and its augmentation techniques within the frame of pedestrian applications in a variety of environments and circumstances. Moreover, the system can be used in many other applications, including unmanned vehicles, military applications, police, etc. NRTK GNSS positioning is considered to be a superior solution in comparison to the conventional standalone Global Positioning System (GPS) technique whose accuracy is highly affected by the distance dependent errors such as satellite orbital and atmospheric biases. Nevertheless, NRTK GNSS positioning is particularly constrained by wireless data link coverage, delays of correction and transmission and completeness, GPS and GLONASS signal availability, etc., which could downgrade the positioning quality of the NRTK results. This research is based on the dual frequency NRTK GNSS (GPS and GLONASS). Additionally, it is incorporated into several positioning and communication methods responsible for data correction while providing the position solutions, in which all identified contextual factors and application requirements are accounted. The positioning model operates through client-server based architecture consisted of a Navigation Service Centre (NSC) and a Mobile Navigation Unit (MNU). Hybrid functional approaches were consisting of several processing procedures allowing the positioning model to operate in position determination modes. NRTK GNSS and augmentation service is used if enough navigation information was available at the MNU using its local positioning device (GPS/GLONASS receiver).The positioning model at MNU was experimentally evaluated and centimetric accuracy was generally attained during both static and kinematic tests in various environments (urban, suburban and rural). This high accuracy was merely affected by some level of unavailability mainly caused by GPS and GLONASS signal blockage. Additionally, the influence of the number of satellites in view, dilution of precision (DOP) and age corrections (AoC) over the accuracy and stability of the NRTK GNSS solution was also investigated during this research and presented in the thesis. This positioning performance has outperformed the existing GPS service. In addition, utilising a simulation evaluation facility the positioning model at MNU performance was quantified with reference to a hybrid positioning service that will be offered by future Galileo Open Service (OS) along with GPS. However, a significant difference in terms of the service availability for the advantage of the hybrid system was experienced in all remaining scenarios and environments more especially the urban areas due to surrounding obstacles and conditions. As an outcome of this research a new and precise positioning model was proposed. The adaptive framework is understood as approaching an integration of the available positioning technology into the context of surrounding wireless communication for a maintainable performance. The positioning model has the capability of delivering indeed accurate, precise and consistent position solutions, and thus is fulfilling the requirements of visually impaired people navigation application, as identified in the adaptive framework