The MAPS: Toward a Novel Mobility Assistance System for Visually Impaired People
This paper introduces the design of a novel indoor and outdoor mobility assistance system for visually impaired people. This system is named the MAPS (Mobility Assistance Path Planning and orientation in Space), and it is based on the theoretical frameworks of mobility and spatial cognition. Its ori...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/9/3316 |
| _version_ | 1827671455133859840 |
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| author | Katerine Romeo Edwige Pissaloux Simon L. Gay Ngoc-Tan Truong Lilia Djoussouf |
| author_facet | Katerine Romeo Edwige Pissaloux Simon L. Gay Ngoc-Tan Truong Lilia Djoussouf |
| author_sort | Katerine Romeo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper introduces the design of a novel indoor and outdoor mobility assistance system for visually impaired people. This system is named the MAPS (Mobility Assistance Path Planning and orientation in Space), and it is based on the theoretical frameworks of mobility and spatial cognition. Its originality comes from the assistance of two main functions of navigation: locomotion and wayfinding. Locomotion involves the ability to avoid obstacles, while wayfinding involves the orientation in space and ad hoc path planning in an (unknown) environment. The MAPS architecture proposes a new low-cost system for indoor–outdoor cognitive mobility assistance, relying on two cooperating hardware feedbacks: the Force Feedback Tablet (F2T) and the TactiBelt. F2T is an electromechanical tablet using haptic effects that allow the exploration of images and maps. It is used to assist with maps’ learning, space awareness emergence, path planning, wayfinding and effective journey completion. It helps a VIP construct a mental map of their environment. TactiBelt is a vibrotactile belt providing active support for the path integration strategy while navigating; it assists the VIP localize the nearest obstacles in real-time and provides the ego-directions to reach the destination. Technology used for acquiring the information about the surrounding space is based on vision (cameras) and is defined with the localization on a map. The preliminary evaluations of the MAPS focused on the interaction with the environment and on feedback from the users (blindfolded participants) to confirm its effectiveness in a simulated environment (a labyrinth). Those lead-users easily interpreted the system’s provided data that they considered relevant for effective independent navigation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:42:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-934d339d98184e32a3b09ce367e805d1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:42:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-934d339d98184e32a3b09ce367e805d12023-11-23T09:16:39ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-04-01229331610.3390/s22093316The MAPS: Toward a Novel Mobility Assistance System for Visually Impaired PeopleKaterine Romeo0Edwige Pissaloux1Simon L. Gay2Ngoc-Tan Truong3Lilia Djoussouf4LITIS Lab, University of Rouen Normandy, 76800 St-Etienne-du-Rouvray, FranceLITIS Lab, University of Rouen Normandy, 76800 St-Etienne-du-Rouvray, FranceLCIS Lab, University of Grenoble Alpes, 26000 Valence, FranceLITIS Lab, University of Rouen Normandy, 76800 St-Etienne-du-Rouvray, FranceLITIS Lab, University of Rouen Normandy, 76800 St-Etienne-du-Rouvray, FranceThis paper introduces the design of a novel indoor and outdoor mobility assistance system for visually impaired people. This system is named the MAPS (Mobility Assistance Path Planning and orientation in Space), and it is based on the theoretical frameworks of mobility and spatial cognition. Its originality comes from the assistance of two main functions of navigation: locomotion and wayfinding. Locomotion involves the ability to avoid obstacles, while wayfinding involves the orientation in space and ad hoc path planning in an (unknown) environment. The MAPS architecture proposes a new low-cost system for indoor–outdoor cognitive mobility assistance, relying on two cooperating hardware feedbacks: the Force Feedback Tablet (F2T) and the TactiBelt. F2T is an electromechanical tablet using haptic effects that allow the exploration of images and maps. It is used to assist with maps’ learning, space awareness emergence, path planning, wayfinding and effective journey completion. It helps a VIP construct a mental map of their environment. TactiBelt is a vibrotactile belt providing active support for the path integration strategy while navigating; it assists the VIP localize the nearest obstacles in real-time and provides the ego-directions to reach the destination. Technology used for acquiring the information about the surrounding space is based on vision (cameras) and is defined with the localization on a map. The preliminary evaluations of the MAPS focused on the interaction with the environment and on feedback from the users (blindfolded participants) to confirm its effectiveness in a simulated environment (a labyrinth). Those lead-users easily interpreted the system’s provided data that they considered relevant for effective independent navigation.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/9/3316visually impaired mobility assistancetactile tablettactibeltmaps’ learningspace awareness emergencepath planning |
| spellingShingle | Katerine Romeo Edwige Pissaloux Simon L. Gay Ngoc-Tan Truong Lilia Djoussouf The MAPS: Toward a Novel Mobility Assistance System for Visually Impaired People Sensors visually impaired mobility assistance tactile tablet tactibelt maps’ learning space awareness emergence path planning |
| title | The MAPS: Toward a Novel Mobility Assistance System for Visually Impaired People |
| title_full | The MAPS: Toward a Novel Mobility Assistance System for Visually Impaired People |
| title_fullStr | The MAPS: Toward a Novel Mobility Assistance System for Visually Impaired People |
| title_full_unstemmed | The MAPS: Toward a Novel Mobility Assistance System for Visually Impaired People |
| title_short | The MAPS: Toward a Novel Mobility Assistance System for Visually Impaired People |
| title_sort | maps toward a novel mobility assistance system for visually impaired people |
| topic | visually impaired mobility assistance tactile tablet tactibelt maps’ learning space awareness emergence path planning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/9/3316 |
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