Map matching by using inertial sensors: literature review

This literature review aims to clarify what is known about map matching by using inertial sensors and what are the requirements for map matching, inertial sensors, placement and possible complementary position technology. The target is to develop a wearable location system that can position itself within a complex construction environment automatically with the aid of an accurate building model. The wearable location system should work on a tablet computer which is running an augmented reality (AR) solution and is capable of track and visualize 3D-CAD models in real environment. The wearable location system is needed to support the system in initialization of the accurate camera pose calculation and automatically finding the right location in the 3D-CAD model. One type of sensor which does seem applicable to people tracking is inertial measurement unit (IMU). The IMU sensors in aerospace applications, based on laser based gyroscopes, are big but provide a very accurate position estimation with a limited drift. Small and light units such as those based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical (MEMS) sensors are becoming very popular, but they have a significant bias and therefore suffer from large drifts and require method for calibration like map matching. The system requires very little fixed infrastructure, the monetary cost is proportional to the number of users, rather than to the coverage area as is the case for traditional absolute indoor location systems.Siirretty Doriast

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

Exploring the Use of Wearables to Enable Indoor Navigation for Blind Users

One of the challenges that people with visual impairments (VI) have to have to confront daily, is navigating independently through foreign or unfamiliar spaces.Navigating through unfamiliar spaces without assistance is very time consuming and leads to lower mobility. Especially in the case of indoor environments where the use of GPS is impossible, this task becomes even harder.However, advancements in mobile and wearable computing pave the path to new cheap assistive technologies that can make the lives of people with VI easier.Wearable devices have great potential for assistive applications for users who are blind as they typically feature a camera and support hands and eye free interaction. Smart watches and heads up displays (HUDs), in combination with smartphones, can provide a basis for development of advanced algorithms, capable of providing inexpensive solutions for navigation in indoor spaces. New interfaces are also introduced making the interaction between users who are blind and mo-bile devices more intuitive.This work presents a set of new systems and technologies created to help users with VI navigate indoor environments. The first system presented is an indoor navigation system for people with VI that operates by using sensors found in mo-bile devices and virtual maps of the environment. The second system presented helps users navigate large open spaces with minimum veering. Next a study is conducted to determine the accuracy of pedometry based on different body placements of the accelerometer sensors. Finally, a gesture detection system is introduced that helps communication between the user and mobile devices by using sensors in wearable devices

Smart Localization Using a New Sensor Association Framework for Outdoor Augmented Reality Systems

Augmented Reality (AR) aims at enhancing our the real world, by adding fictitious elements that are not perceptible naturally such as: computer-generated images, virtual objects, texts, symbols, graphics, sounds, and smells. The quality of the real/virtual registration depends mainly on the accuracy of the 3D camera pose estimation. In this paper, we present an original real-time localization system for outdoor AR which combines three heterogeneous sensors: a camera, a GPS, and an inertial sensor. The proposed system is subdivided into two modules: the main module is vision based; it estimates the user’s location using a markerless tracking method. When the visual tracking fails, the system switches automatically to the secondary localization module composed of the GPS and the inertial sensor

MULTI-SENSOR LOCALIZATION AND TRACKING IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND INDOOR WAYFINDING FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED USERS

This dissertation proposes a series of multi-sensor localization and tracking algorithms particularly developed for two important application domains, which are disaster management and indoor wayfinding for blind and visually impaired (BVI) users. For disaster management, we developed two different localization algorithms, one each for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, which enable the disaster management system to track patients in real-time. Both algorithms work in the absence of any pre-deployed infrastructure along with smartphones and wearable devices. Regarding indoor wayfinding for BVI users, we have explored several types of indoor positioning techniques including BLE-based, inertial, visual and hybrid approaches to offer accurate and reliable location and orientation in complex navigation spaces. In this dissertation, significant contributions have been made in the design and implementation of various localization and tracking algorithms under different requirements of certain applications

Map Matching by Using Inertial Sensors – Literature Review

This literature review aims to clarify what is known about map matching by using inertial sensors and what are the requirements for map matching, inertial sensors, placement and possible complementary position technology. The target is to develop a wearable location system that can position itself within a complex construction environment automatically with the aid of an accurate building model. The wearable location system should work on a tablet computer which is running an augmented reality (AR) solution and is capable of track and visualize 3D-CAD models in real environment. The wearable location system is needed to support the system in initialization of the accurate camera pose calculation and automatically finding the right location in the 3D-CAD model. One type of sensor which does seem applicable to people tracking is inertial measurement unit (IMU). The IMU sensors in aerospace applications, based on laser based gyroscopes, are big but provide a very accurate position estimation with a limited drift. Small and light units such as those based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical (MEMS) sensors are becoming very popular, but they have a signicant bias and therefore suffer from large drifts and require method for calibration like map matching. The system requires very little fixed infrastructure, the monetary cost is proportional to the number of users, rather than to the coverage area as is the case for traditional absolute indoor location systems.</p