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Smartphone Technology Offers Navigation Help For The Blind
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Smartphone Technology
Just as robots need assistance navigating terrain, the use of sophisticated location and tracking systems help them know where they are and where they’re going. This same technology is now being utilized to help the blind navigate both outdoor and indoor areas without assistance.
Researchers at the Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics in Paris, France have developed a pair of eyeglasses that are fitted with cameras and sensors similar to those embedded in robots. The technology produces a 3D map of the environment in which the blind person is located and it updates it as the wearer moves. The blind individual has an electronic handheld device that transmits information in Braille that provides information about the area they’re navigating. In addition to letting the person know the location of furniture within a home, it also transmits information such as the location of the nearest grocery store, intersection or other landmarks.
The way the technology works is through the use of two CMOS cameras that are mounted on each side of the glasses, these are what generate the 3D scene image. The glasses are also equipped with accelerometers and gyroscopes, much like those in robots, and this is what helps keep track of the physical location of the user and his or her speed and the direction in which he is facing.
The cameras in the eyeglasses can generate 10 maps per second and this information is then transmitted to the Braille device. The device displays a tactile map that updates itself quickly enough to accommodate the user’s walking pace. Researchers at the University of Nevada in Reno are working to adapt the handheld Braille reader into a smartphone app as a low cost alternative. The way this device would work is that the smartphone would take advantage of 2D maps and a compass and would then transmit the information to the user.
While the technologies between robotic movement and navigation for the blind are similar, there are still differences that must be taken into consideration and adapted to suit the needs of a human, but it looks to be a promising way to offer the blind more independence.