Abstract

Visually impaired and blind people (VIBP) have to face significant difficulties locating public transport vehicles and bus stops due to their vision restrictions. Over the past decade, diverse assistance systems have been developed to solve this problem. However, most of them are based upon the global positioning system (GPS) and present satellite coverage problems in indoor environments. Some others are wearable prototypes that turn out to be onerous for the user. This paper presents an assistance system for VIBP in the use of public transportation. The proposed system uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology for location and communication purposes, and a mobile application for user-smartphone interaction. The BLE beacons are installed on buses and their stops; accordingly, the mobile application tracks them in real-time and provides the relevant information to the user employing verbal instructions; transportation line, destination, next stop name, and current location. This information allows the user to properly select the desired bus in advance and get off at the correct destination stop. The proposed system has been tested in two scenarios: 1) under controlled conditions and 2) in a real environment. The results show that the proposed system is 97.6% effective when VIBP travel independently from one point to another. In addition, according to an assessment sheet completed by the participants, the proposed system grants them greater confidence and independence than GPS-based systems because of the following reasons; firstly, it can work with an internet connection or without an internet connection. Secondly, it is not an onerous system; information about the location of vehicles and stops is provided in real-time. Last but not least, it does not present satellite coverage problems in indoor environments.

Highlights

  • Impaired and blind people (VIBP) face diverse challenges on their daily lives, being one of the most important commuting by means of public transport

  • Over the past ten years, diverse systems have been developed to help Visually impaired and blind people (VIBP) in the use of public transport [1]–[5]; their functionality depends on a constant internet connection, the majority of which based on the global positioning system (GPS) which present satellite coverage problems in indoor environments

  • All participants completed an assessment sheet where they declared they feel more comfortable and secure with the proposed systems than GPS-based systems because of the following reasons: (1) it does not present satellite coverage problems in indoor environments, (2) it is not an onerous system, (3) it can work with internet connection or without internet connection, and (4) the information about the location of vehicles and stops is provided in real-time

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

Impaired and blind people (VIBP) face diverse challenges on their daily lives, being one of the most important commuting by means of public transport. Over the past ten years, diverse systems have been developed to help VIBP in the use of public transport [1]–[5]; their functionality depends on a constant internet connection, the majority of which based on the global positioning system (GPS) which present satellite coverage problems in indoor environments They are wearable and onerous devices that affect the natural movements of the user. All participants completed an assessment sheet where they declared they feel more comfortable and secure with the proposed systems than GPS-based systems because of the following reasons: (1) it does not present satellite coverage problems in indoor environments, (2) it is not an onerous system, (3) it can work with internet connection or without internet connection, and (4) the information about the location of vehicles and stops is provided in real-time.

RELATED WORK
LOCAL TRAVELING AND SYSTEM RECOGNITION
STUDY PARTICIPANTS AND EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
OUTDOOR NAVIGATION
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
OUTDOOR NAVIGATION RESULTS
You can use the system autonomously
Comparison of the Proposed System and GPSbased Systems
12 It takes less time to load the information
CONCLUSION
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