Abstract
Currently, several outdoor navigation and orientation electronic traveling aid (ETA) solutions for visually impaired (VI) people are commercially available or in active development. This paper’s survey of blind experts has shown that after outdoor navigation, the second most important ETA feature for VI persons is indoor navigation and orientation (in public institutions, supermarkets, office buildings, homes, etc.). VI persons need ETA for orientation and navigation in unfamiliar indoor environments with embedded features for the detection and recognition of obstacles (not only on the ground but also at head level) and desired destinations such as rooms, staircases, and elevators. The development of such indoor navigation systems, which do not have Global Positioning System (GPS) locational references, is challenging and requires an overview and evaluation of existing systems with different navigation technologies. This paper presents an evaluation and comparison of state-of-the-art indoor navigation solutions, and the research implications provide a summary of the critical observations, some insights, and directions for further developments. The paper maps VI needs in relation to research and development (R&D) trends using the evaluation criteria deemed most important by blind experts.
Highlights
According to October 2018 figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) [1], there are approximately 1.3 billion people with some form of vision impairment globally, 36 million of which are blind
This article has presented an overview of indoor navigation systems for visually impaired (VI) persons, as well as a qualitative assessment of these systems according to the criteria considered essential by blind experts
It should be noted that the review is not based on widely available commercial solutions
Summary
According to October 2018 figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) [1], there are approximately 1.3 billion people with some form of vision impairment globally, 36 million of which are blind. We assume that it is necessary to take into account blind experts’ opinions of such systems For this reason, publications from the last five years, dedicated to the description of indoor navigation systems for VI persons, were selected in this review. After discussions with blind experts about ETA devices and technologies, and after conducting market demand research, it was decided to review current research on indoor navigation solutions. The analysis of the survey results provided a basic understanding of users’ expectations and requirements for indoor ETA solutions. It enabled the identification of some new developments in the field. Our focus on the hardware part of ETAs and mapping the properties of existing solutions to the end user needs and expectations provides new perspectives that were not discussed in research publications before.
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