Novel indoor navigation system for visually impaired and blind people

Abstract

Visual impairment or vision loss is the main reason for reduced mobility in humans. Visually Impaired (VI) people require continuous assistance during their movement. Researchers and scientists have put many solutions to assist those people in the activities of their daily living (ADL). The current research delivers a novel indoor navigation system for visually impaired people. The proposed solution is designed for indoor use only (house, office, companies, etc.). It provides the visually impaired person the ability to navigate without any other hardware assistance. The proposed system architecture uses a network of IP cameras installed at the ceiling of each room. A remote processing system analyzes-by computer vision algorithms-photos taken from the environment in order to inform the subject about his location and reacts accordingly to deliver the adequate assistance. A guidance algorithm helps him reach his destination using a simple interactive mobile application installed on his smart phone. The proof of concept prototype was designed with one camera on top of a wooden floor model to simulate the system. Results showed good reliability in indoor navigation and obstacles avoidance.