Sensor-Based Prototype of a Smart Assistant for Visually Impaired People—Preliminary Results
People with visual impairment are the second largest affected category with limited access to assistive products. A complete, portable, and affordable smart assistant for helping visually impaired people to navigate indoors, outdoors, and interact with the environment is presented in this paper. The...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/11/4271 |
| _version_ | 1797491588390191104 |
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| author | Emilia Șipoș Cosmin Ciuciu Laura Ivanciu |
| author_facet | Emilia Șipoș Cosmin Ciuciu Laura Ivanciu |
| author_sort | Emilia Șipoș |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | People with visual impairment are the second largest affected category with limited access to assistive products. A complete, portable, and affordable smart assistant for helping visually impaired people to navigate indoors, outdoors, and interact with the environment is presented in this paper. The prototype of the smart assistant consists of a smart cane and a central unit; communication between user and the assistant is carried out through voice messages, making the system suitable for any user, regardless of their IT skills. The assistant is equipped with GPS, electronic compass, Wi-Fi, ultrasonic sensors, an optical sensor, and an RFID reader, to help the user navigate safely. Navigation functionalities work offline, which is especially important in areas where Internet coverage is weak or missing altogether. Physical condition monitoring, medication, shopping, and weather information, facilitate the interaction between the user and the environment, supporting daily activities. The proposed system uses different components for navigation, provides independent navigation systems for indoors and outdoors, both day and night, regardless of weather conditions. Preliminary tests provide encouraging results, indicating that the prototype has the potential to help visually impaired people to achieve a high level of independence in daily activities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:51:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f121da9d05164daba501934312450fd3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:51:27Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-f121da9d05164daba501934312450fd32023-11-23T14:51:17ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-06-012211427110.3390/s22114271Sensor-Based Prototype of a Smart Assistant for Visually Impaired People—Preliminary ResultsEmilia Șipoș0Cosmin Ciuciu1Laura Ivanciu2Bases of Electronics Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400027 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaBases of Electronics Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400027 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaBases of Electronics Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400027 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaPeople with visual impairment are the second largest affected category with limited access to assistive products. A complete, portable, and affordable smart assistant for helping visually impaired people to navigate indoors, outdoors, and interact with the environment is presented in this paper. The prototype of the smart assistant consists of a smart cane and a central unit; communication between user and the assistant is carried out through voice messages, making the system suitable for any user, regardless of their IT skills. The assistant is equipped with GPS, electronic compass, Wi-Fi, ultrasonic sensors, an optical sensor, and an RFID reader, to help the user navigate safely. Navigation functionalities work offline, which is especially important in areas where Internet coverage is weak or missing altogether. Physical condition monitoring, medication, shopping, and weather information, facilitate the interaction between the user and the environment, supporting daily activities. The proposed system uses different components for navigation, provides independent navigation systems for indoors and outdoors, both day and night, regardless of weather conditions. Preliminary tests provide encouraging results, indicating that the prototype has the potential to help visually impaired people to achieve a high level of independence in daily activities.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/11/4271smart assistantvisually impairednavigationobstacle detectionroute recommendationintelligent sensors |
| spellingShingle | Emilia Șipoș Cosmin Ciuciu Laura Ivanciu Sensor-Based Prototype of a Smart Assistant for Visually Impaired People—Preliminary Results Sensors smart assistant visually impaired navigation obstacle detection route recommendation intelligent sensors |
| title | Sensor-Based Prototype of a Smart Assistant for Visually Impaired People—Preliminary Results |
| title_full | Sensor-Based Prototype of a Smart Assistant for Visually Impaired People—Preliminary Results |
| title_fullStr | Sensor-Based Prototype of a Smart Assistant for Visually Impaired People—Preliminary Results |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sensor-Based Prototype of a Smart Assistant for Visually Impaired People—Preliminary Results |
| title_short | Sensor-Based Prototype of a Smart Assistant for Visually Impaired People—Preliminary Results |
| title_sort | sensor based prototype of a smart assistant for visually impaired people preliminary results |
| topic | smart assistant visually impaired navigation obstacle detection route recommendation intelligent sensors |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/11/4271 |
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