A Vision-Based Approach for Sidewalk and Walkway Trip Hazards Assessment.

Rachel Cohen,Atena Roshan Fekr,Geoff Fernie

doi:10.3390/ijerph17228438

Abstract

Tripping hazards on the sidewalk cause many falls annually, and the inspection and repair of these hazards cost cities millions of dollars. Currently, there is not an efficient and cost-effective method to monitor the sidewalk to identify any possible tripping hazards. In this paper, a new portable device is proposed using an Intel RealSense D415 RGB-D camera to monitor the sidewalks, detect the hazards, and extract relevant features of the hazards. This paper first analyzes the effects of environmental factors contributing to the device’s error and compares different regression techniques to calibrate the camera. The Gaussian Process Regression models yielded the most accurate predictions with less than 0.09 mm Mean Absolute Errors (MAEs). In the second phase, a novel segmentation algorithm is proposed that combines the edge detection and region-growing techniques to detect the true tripping hazards. Different examples are provided to visualize the output results of the proposed method.

Highlights

Tripping is a major concern especially for elderly people, as it is a primary cause of falls leading to serious injuries
Results first, we report the outcomes from the proposed error prediction model and
First, we report the outcomes from the proposed error prediction model and use the estimated error to increase the accuracy of our tripping hazards detection technique

Summary

Introduction

Tripping is a major concern especially for elderly people, as it is a primary cause of falls leading to serious injuries. Loose tiles, bumps, and potholes are just a few examples of sidewalk hazards that cause trip-related injuries and remain undetected. Cities in Ontario, Canada are liable for damages to a person if they do not repair raised edges in sidewalks greater than 20 mm (0.75 in) on public property according to the Minimum Maintenance Standards [1]. Building Code in the United States calls for beveling any changes in elevation greater than 6 mm (0.25 in) [2]. Cities only perform sidewalk inspection once a year, as the inspection alone costs the city thousands of dollars [1]. In the city of Hamilton, the sidewalk inspections cost about

Objectives

Methods

Results