Wearable Obstacle Avoidance Electronic Travel Aids for Blind: A Survey

TLDR

Portable navigation aids for the visually impaired have evolved over recent decades, encompassing electronic travel aids, orientation aids, and position locator devices. This paper conducts a comparative survey of portable/wearable obstacle‑detection and avoidance systems to inform researchers and users about their capabilities and the progress in assistive technology. The survey classifies systems using qualitative and quantitative performance metrics and presents a ranking that serves as a reference point rather than a critique.

Abstract

The last decades a variety of portable or wearable navigation systems have been developed to assist visually impaired people during navigation in known or unknown, indoor or outdoor environments. There are three main categories of these systems: electronic travel aids (ETAs), electronic orientation aids (EOAs), and position locator devices (PLDs). This paper presents a comparative survey among portable/wearable obstacle detection/avoidance systems (a subcategory of ETAs) in an effort to inform the research community and users about the capabilities of these systems and about the progress in assistive technology for visually impaired people. The survey is based on various features and performance parameters of the systems that classify them in categories, giving qualitative-quantitative measures. Finally, it offers a ranking, which will serve only as a reference point and not as a critique on these systems.