Abstract
We present an object identification methodology applied in a navigation assistance for visually impaired (NAVI) system. The NAVI has a single board processing system (SBPS), a digital video camera mounted headgear, and a pair of stereo earphones. The captured image from the camera is processed by the SBPS to generate a specially structured stereo sound suitable for vision impaired people in understanding the presence of objects/obstacles in front of them. The image processing stage is designed to identify the objects in the captured image. Edge detection and edge-linking procedures are applied in the processing of image. A concept of object preference is included in the image processing scheme and this concept is realized using a fuzzy-rule base. The blind users are trained with the stereo sound produced by NAVI for achieving a collision-free autonomous navigation.
Highlights
The World Health Organization estimated that around 180 million people worldwide are visually disabled
Electronic travel aids (ETAs) are electronic devices designed to aid the navigation of blind people
navigation assistance for visually impaired (NAVI) system developed for vision substitution has a headgear mounted with the vision sensor, a pair of stereo earphones, a single board processing system (SBPS), and a specially designed vest for housing the SBPS
Summary
The World Health Organization estimated that around 180 million people worldwide are visually disabled. The sound pattern is generated using sine wave; the loudness depends on the intensity value of each pixel in the image Another similar invention is the Vuphonics, which is developed by Dewhurst [4]. Navigation assistance for visually impaired (NAVI) is a vision substitution system that is based on image-tosound concept. This system has been developed to identify objects or obstacles in indoor environment such as inside the building and along a corridor. In the earlier image processing, the objects in the captured image were identified with their grey values. The grey-level quantitization in the processing would result in a reduction of information in the image This information is inevitable for object identification. A concept of object preference is included so that the blind can identify the presence of nearest object for a collision-free navigation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
