Virtual Guide Dog: Next-generation pedestrian signal for the visually impaired

Zijia Zhong,Joyoung Lee

doi:10.1177/1687814019883096

Abstract

Accessible pedestrian signal was proposed as a mean to achieve the same level of service that is set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act for the visually impaired. One of the major issues of existing accessible pedestrian signals is the failure to deliver adequate crossing information for the visually impaired. This article presents a mobile-based accessible pedestrian signal application, namely, Virtual Guide Dog. Integrating intersection information and onboard sensors (e.g. GPS, compass, accelerometer, and gyroscope sensor) of modern smartphones, the Virtual Guide Dog application can notify the visually impaired: (1) the close proximity of an intersection and (2) the street information for crossing. By employing a screen tapping interface, Virtual Guide Dog can remotely place a pedestrian crossing call to the controller, without the need of using a pushbutton. In addition, Virtual Guide Dog informs VIs the start of a crossing phase using text-to-speech technology. The proof-of-concept test shows that Virtual Guide Dog keeps the users informed about the remaining distance as they are approaching the intersection. It was also found that the GPS-only mode is accompanied by greater distance deviation compared to the mode jointly operating with both GPS and cellular positioning.

Highlights

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires the same level of service to be provided to the visually impaired as to others.[1]
Using NTCIP to communicate with the signal controller, the Virtual Guide Dog (VGD) application could be an attractive alternative for conventional accessible pedestrian signal (APS)
The cost of implementing VGD is only a fraction of the conventional APS: the average cost including labor for installing one APS system for one intersection is US$6000,3 whereas the estimated cost for implementing VGD is approximately US$100–US$500 depending on the price of the mobile device and the data plan

Summary

Introduction

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires the same level of service to be provided to the visually impaired as to others.[1] Despite the significant improvements for accessible pedestrian signal (APS) systems over the years, APSs are still facing many challenges. Even with APSs, the visually impaired are still experiencing difficulties in crossing signalized intersection due to the lack of safe crossing information. This study proposes a mobile-based APS, namely, the Virtual Guide Dog (VGD), which provides the visually impaired users with personalized intersection crossing instructions and improves the safety of the crossing. The proposed application architecture, test bed, and application logic are presented in section ‘‘System architecture.’’ Results of the preliminary proof-of-concept field test are discussed in section ‘‘Evaluation,’’ followed by section ‘‘Conclusion.’’

Literature review

Results and findings

Conclusion