Electronic Aids Research Articles

The use of cognitive aids in the operating room: a systematic review

Background: Cognitive aids (CAs) are clinical tools guiding clinical decision-making during critical events in the operating room. They may counteract the adverse effects of stress on the non-technical skills of the attending clinician(s). Although most clinicians acknowledge the importance of CAs, their uptake in clinical practice seems to be lagging behind. This situation has led us to investigate which features of CAs may enhance their uptake. Therefore, in this systematic review we explored the optimums regarding the 1) timing to consult the CA, 2) person consulting the CA, 3) location of the CA in the operating room, 4) CA design (paper vs. electronic), 5) CA lay-out, 6) reader of the CA and 7) if the use of CAs in the form of decision support tools lead to improved outcome. Methods: Seven PICO-questions guided our literature search in 4 biomedical databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science and Google Scholar). We selected English-language randomized controlled trials (RCTs), observational studies and expert opinions discussing the use of cognitive aids during life-threatening events in the operating theatre. Articles discussing non-urgent or non-operating room settings were excluded. The quality of evidence was evaluated with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Results: We found 7 RCTs, 14 observational studies and 6 expert opinions. All trials were conducted in a simulation environment. The person who should trigger the use of a cognitive aid and the optimal timing of its initiation, could not be defined by the current literature. The ideal location of the cognitive aids remains also unclear. A favorable lay-out of an aid should be well-structured, standardized and easily readable. In addition, several potentially beneficial design features are described. RCT’s could not demonstrate a possible superiority of either electronic or paper-based aids. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, electronic decision support tools are potentially associated with an enhanced performance of the clinician. Likewise, the presence of a reader was associated with an improved performance of key steps in the management of a critical event. However, it remains unclear who should fulfill this role. Conclusion: Several features of the design or utilization of CAs may play a role in enhancing the uptake of CAs in clinical practice during the management of a critical event in the operating room. However, robust evidence supporting the use of a certain feature over another is lacking.

Trade-off study on environmental-economical aspects of a CRDI engine using hydrogen as dual fuel mode powered with different low viscous alcohol additives

Fuelling a diesel engine with a hydrogen-powered CRDI system is the primary goal of this research. The test was carried out using a water-cooled engine with a brake power of 3.5 kW at a steady speed. Diesel ignited premature hydrogen and air, and two different LVAA fuels were pumped into the combustion chamber at a 23° degree bTDC crankshaft angle. At a rate of 10–20% HES, hydrogen is fed into the reactor. The in-house DAQ program (PC-based) developed in a data factory was used to control the timed manifold injection approach, which was used to mix the hydrogen and air homogeneously. During the suction stroke, the electronic control unit aids in hydrogen induction for a total of 211° degree CA. The findings of combustion, emission, performance, and experiments show that 20%HES with diesel and LVAA as pilot fuel is the most effective level of hydrogen injection. Furthermore, BTE improved by 36.83%, while the BSEC decreased by 19.48%. This also reduced harmful pollutants like smoke, UHC, CO, and CO2 by 55.86%, 30%, 52.33%, and 46.3%, respectively. However, compared to diesel, the level of nitrogen oxides in the air is primarily similar at its highest power output. Because hydrogen burns with a faster flame, less time is consumed during combustion. As a result, the researchers concluded that adding hydrogen to the CRDI engine resulted in lower emissions and better performance when running at the recommended 20% hydrogen with ethanol and diesel blend as pilot fuel. Mainly, DE + HES (20%) fuel strategy was found to be the most suitable dual-fuel mode combination in a conventional CRDI-powered diesel engine in terms of their quality performance and control emissions along with the best economy.

Applying Peer Tutor Learning and Interactive Case Methods in Online Learning: Its Effect on Student Activities and Learning Outcomes

<p style="text-align:justify">The purpose of this study was to increase student activity and learning outcomes by applying peer tutor learning methods combined with interactive case methods in online learning mode through Electronic Learning Aid (ELENA) and Zoom meeting. This study was carried out with a classroom action research (CAR) design in three cycles of implementation. This study was carried out in the even semester of 2020/2021 in the Cost Accounting course. Data collection methods used are documentation, observation, and tests. Student learning activities in online learning through ELENA and Zoom meetings have been recorded to show changes and improvements in the quality of student learning activities. The data analysis method used is quantitative descriptive analysis. The application of the peer tutor learning with the interactive case methods has been going well through the Zoom meeting and ELENA and is able to have an impact on student activities and learning outcomes in the Cost Accounting course. The increase in student learning activities can be seen in the increased ability of students to ask questions, provide responses or answers, and express opinions or ideas during lectures. Student learning outcomes also experienced a significant increase, which was 7.5%. Students who act as tutors can carry out their duties well.</p>

SMART WEARABLE GADGET FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED WITH GPS TRACKER

According to the research dispensed by the globe Health Organization (WHO), it absolutely was found that there a minimum of 285 million people across the world who are visually-impaired. This device offers an ETA (Electronic Travel Aids)-smart guiding device in the form of a VR box for providing this group with direction effectively and safely due to the difficulties of travelling. A multimodal fusion-based obstacle-avoiding algorithm is described that differs from prior systems in that it makes use of the Camera to identify people and detect barriers. Through GPS Module we are able to find the placement of user. Once an obstacle on the trail of the user is detected, it alerts the user through the audio messages. Thus, helping the user to navigate safely.

The degree to which students with visual impairments in Jordanian public schools use their assistive technology to study subjects in inclusive schools from their point of view

The current study aims to identify the degree to which students with visual disabilities in Jordanian public schools use their own educational technologies to study subjects in inclusive schools from their point of view in light of some variables represented by gender, degree of disability, and school stage. The sample consisted of (349) male and female students with visual impairment who were selected by a stratified random method. To achieve the objectives of the study, a scale of the degree of use of educational technologies was built, divided into three dimensions: electronic Braille display screens, electronic reading aids, and a magnifying screen. The psychometric properties of the scale were verified. The results showed that the degree of using educational technologies among students with visual disabilities in inclusive Jordanian public schools was low, with an arithmetic mean of the total score (1.80). They also revealed that there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level (α = 0.05) in the level of students' use of educational technologies according to grade and degree of disability. The results also revealed a statistically significant difference according to the gender variable in favor of males

Analysis of the visual aid effectiveness in engineering education

The article is devoted to the analysis of the effectiveness of the use of modern electronic visual aids (Trello virtual whiteboard, Core platform, Mind Maps, interactive books) in the engineering training of future specialists. The growth of digitalization and the abundance of information in all areas of life, including education, offer teachers and students to solve most educational problems using digital technologies and visual aids. The quality of the educational information received and processed by students, as well as the insufficient development of the use of relevant electronic visual means at the present stage of the development of the educational system makes our research relevant. The empirical basis of the study was the teaching of one of the disciplines of the Master's program of engineering training of the National Research University "MEI" of the Department of Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology named after G.S. Arefieva. In the 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic years, a pedagogical experiment was conducted as part of teaching the second-year masters of the discipline "Organizational Behavior": part of the groups studied traditionally, the other part — with the use of new educational resources. During the study, visual learning aids (Mind Maps and interactive books), the peculiarities of information perception, including educational ones, were examined in detail, the domestic and foreign experience of using visual aids in teaching humanities disciplines was studied, the effectiveness of using several modern aids and services in engineering education at a technical university was tested. The article describes the features of the experiment, presents its results and analysis, and formulates recommendations for the effective use of modern visual aids for university training.

Challenges and Responsibilities of Critical Care Nurses in the Weaning Process from Mechanical Ventilation for Patients Post-Cardiothoracic Surgery: A Qualitative Study

Background: The responsibilities of critical care nurses for mechanical ventilation (MV) management may differ among countries, particularly in the weaning process. Aim: To identify nurses' perceptions, roles, and challenges regarding the weaning process for patients in intensive care units (ICUs) in Denmark, Egypt, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: This study was a qualitative study using a phenomenological-hermeneutic design. Results: Nurses in Egypt and the KSA were more likely to independently adjust ventilator settings. They used body language, facial expressions, and eye contact to communicate with patients. They prepared patients for the weaning process following physicians' orders. They provided routine nursing care with no specific nursing guidelines or protocols for the weaning process. In contrast, the nurses in Denmark checked the ventilator settings frequently, assessed the consistency of secretions, and frequently performed endotracheal suctioning. They used body language, facial expressions, and eye contact, and they used low technology devices (e.g. word or picture charts, alphabet boards and rewritable magnetic boards) and advanced technological devices (e.g. electronic voice output communication aids through a computer) to communicate with their patients. Moreover, the criteria for weaning and the protocol were used to wean patients from MV. Unfortunately, no protocol was applied for patients with long-term MV. Therefore, the weaning of these patients was conducted by consultation between the nurses and physicians. Conclusion: The use of weaning protocols in Danish settings is an excellent example of collaborative teamwork to apply the best practices in MV weaning processes. It is recommended that nurses in Arab countries apply this experience.

Wearable Travel Aids for Blind and Partially Sighted People: A Review with a Focus on Design Issues.

The ability to travel (independently) is very important for participation in education, work, leisure activities, and all other aspects of modern life. Blind and partially sighted people experience a number of barriers to travel, including inaccessible information and environments, and consequently require support from technology or other people to overcome them. Despite the potential of advanced technologies and the development of electronic travel aids, the long cane and guide dog remains the most commonly used solutions. Wearable technologies are becoming increasingly popular. They have the particular advantage of keeping the hands free, thereby facilitating the use of a long cane, guide dog or another device at the same time. They also have the potential to change the ways in which users interact with the environment. The main contributions of this paper are surveying the current state-of-the-art of travel aids from a design perspective and investigating the following issues: (1) The important design issues in wearable travel aids and the extent to which they are taken into account in different devices; (2) The relationship, if any, between where and how travel aids are worn and their design, features and functions; (3) Limitations of existing devices, gaps in provision and future research directions, particularly with regard to meeting potential users’ needs.

Assessment of an institutional guideline for vancomycin dosing and identification of predictive factors associated with dose and drug trough levels

To evaluate the effectiveness of an antimicrobial guideline for vancomycin prescribing deployed using electronic prescribing aid and web/phone-based app. To define factors associated with guideline compliance and drug levels, and to investigate if antimicrobial dosing recommendations can be refined using routinely collected electronic healthcare record data. We used data from Oxford University Hospitals between 01-January-2016 and 01-June-2021 and multivariable regression models to investigate factors associated with dosing compliance, drug levels and acute kidney injury (AKI). 3767 patients received intravenous vancomycin for ≥24h. Compliance with recommended loading and initial maintenance doses reached 84% and 70% respectively; 72% of subsequent maintenance doses were correctly adjusted. However, only 26% first and 32% subsequent levels reached the target range, and for patients with ongoing vancomycin treatment, 55-63% achieved target levels at 5 days. Drug levels were independently higher in older patients. Incidence of AKI was low (5.7%). Model estimates were used to propose updated age, weight and eGFR specific guidelines. Despite good compliance with guidelines for vancomycin dosing, the proportion of drug levels achieving the target range remained suboptimal. Routinely collected electronic data can be used at scale to inform pharmacokinetic studies and could improve vancomycin dosing.

Morphological and Molecular Characterization, and Demonstration of a Definitive Host, for Sarcocystis masoni from an Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) in China.

Simple SummarySarcocystis spp. are cyst-forming intracellular protozoan parasites characterized by a two-host prey–predator life cycle. The alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is one of the South American camelids (SACs), and in recent years, this animal was introduced to China to be raised for its meat, skin, and wool and to be kept as tourist attractions and as pets. There is considerable confusion regarding the classification and nomenclature of the species of Sarcocystis in SACs. Two Sarcocystis species, named S. auchenia and S. masoni, are currently regarded as valid in SACs based on sarcocyst morphology and 18S rDNA sequences. However, the definitive host of S. masoni remains unknown. Here, S. masoni sarcocysts in an alpaca were morphologically described and molecularly characterized. Furthermore, the life cycle of S. masoni was completed via experimental animal infection. The present analysis showed that S. masoni has a close relationship with S. cameli in the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedaries), and the relationship between the two parasites needs to be clarified in the future.Only 18S rDNA sequences of Sarcocystis spp. in South American camelids (SACs) are deposited in GenBank as references, and the definitive host of S. masoni in SACs is still unclear. Here, S. masoni sarcocysts detected in an alpaca (Vicugna pacos) in China were investigated with the aid of light (LM) and transmission electron (TEM) microscopy, and characterized using four genetic markers, i.e., 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA and ITS, and the mitochondrial cox1. Additionally, the life cycle of the parasite was completed via experimental animal infection. Under LM, S. masoni sarcocysts exhibited numerous 1.3–2.1 μm conical protrusions. Under TEM, the sarcocyst wall contained conical, cylindrical, or irregular-shaped villar protrusions, similar to type 9j. Two dogs (Canis familiaris) fed S. masoni sarcocysts shed sporocysts with a prepatent period of 8–9 days. The newly obtained 18S rDNA sequences showed 98.4–100% identity with those of S. masoni in SACs previously deposited in GenBank. Interestingly, the newly obtained sequences of 18S rDNA and mitochondrial cox1 shared 99.6–100% and 98.2–98.5% identity, respectively, with those of S. cameli in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedaries). Phylogenetic analysis based on sequences of 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, or mitochondrial cox1 revealed that S. masoni has a close relationship with Sarcocystis spp. in ruminants. The relationship between S. masoni and S. cameli deserves to be further clarified in the future.

Millimeter-Wave Radar Cane: A Blind People Aid With Moving Human Recognition Capabilities

This contribution presents an electronic travel aid for blind and visually-impaired people based on a millimeter wave radar and a traditional white-cane. It not only represents an advanced system able to warn the user of potential obstacles, but also discerns between human and nonhuman targets. Since real scenarios would likely have moving targets, a new range alignment technique has been proposed with the aim of detecting the tiny chest displacement due to the physiological activity as the key sign of the human presence. The proposed system is able to properly recognize humans in complex environments with multiple moving targets, thus providing to the user a complete set of information, namely presence, position and nature of the available targets. The operating principle and the effectiveness of the system are shown both by simulated case studies and by employing a 122 GHz radar board for carrying out suitable measurements.

The effect of electronic job aid assisted one-to-one counselling to support exclusive breastfeeding among 0-5-month-old infants in rural Bangladesh.

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 months has established benefits, yet had slow improvements globally. Little is known about electronic job aid‐assisted counselling to support EBF. As a secondary outcome of a cluster randomized controlled trial in Bangladesh, we assessed the effect of electronic job aid‐supported nutrition counselling and practical demonstration on EBF. We randomized pregnant women to one of five study arms in the trial and followed mother–child dyads until 2 years of age. Community health workers (CHWs) provided breastfeeding counselling with or without prenatal and complementary nutrient supplements in all four intervention arms. The comparison arm continued with the usual practice where mothers could receive nutrition counselling at routine antenatal and postnatal care, and during careseeking for childhood illnesses. We assessed breastfeeding indicators at birth and monthly until the child was 6 months old, in both intervention and comparison arms. To evaluate the effect of nutrition counselling on breastfeeding, we combined all four intervention arms and compared them with the comparison arm. Intervention newborns had half the risk (relative risk [RR]: 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.39, 0.76) of receiving prelacteal feeds than those in the comparison arm. EBF declined steeply in the comparison arm after 3 months of age. EBF was 16% higher in the intervention than the comparison arm at 4 months (RR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.23) and 22% higher at 5 months of age (RR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.33). Maternal background and household characteristics did not modify the intervention effect, and we observed no difference in EBF among caesarean versus vaginal births. Breastfeeding counselling and practical demonstration using an electronic job aid by CHWs are promising interventions to improve EBF and are scalable into existing community‐based programmes.

ELECTRONIC AUDIO READING AID LECTURE (E-ARAL)

This study determined the effectiveness of the Electronic Audio Reading Aid Lecture (E-ARAL) in the subject Reading and Analysis of Various Texts towards Research. This study addressed the Republic Act 10533 which encourages the development and reproduction of instructional materials. This study used a pre-test-post-test design. The respondents are chosen purposively with a grade of 79 and below and divided into two groups the control and experimental group. The control group used the traditional method and the experimental group used the intervention E-ARAL in teaching the lesson. The mean score of the pre-test and post-test of the two groups are both analyzed to determine their significant differences. In conclusion, the utilization of traditional teaching and the intervention E-ARAL are both effective in teaching the subject, but the intervention E-ARAL is more effective because of the higher mastery level results. Lastly, there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups.

Secured Electronic Voting System Using RSA Key Encapsulation Mechanism

A secured process whereas enumerating and casting of votes with the electronic aids with aim of improving the performance of electoral system is called E-voting (Electronic voting). Present e-voting mechanisms are faced with challenges such as confidentiality, integrity, verifiability, transparency, non-repudiation, and authenticity. In e-voting system, blockchain cryptography exists to protect voter’s records. Encryption as well as decryption prevents forgery and other electoral malpractices by confirming voter’s coherence and confidentiality. Rivest, Shamir, Adleman (RSA) is a crooked algorithm with trapdoor functionality which makes it difficult to factor a huge prime whole number as the product of multiplication into its component primes. RSA – Key Encapsulation Mechanism describes a hybrid encryption that makes use of unrelated keys for decryption and encryption along with a key derivation function. In this paper, a secured voting system using RSA Key Encapsulation Mechanism with two layers-Symmetric and Public key Layers was presented. RSA consist of three functions such as key generation, encryption, and decryption. In RSA-KEM, KDF3 built upon SHA-256, induction function is mainly for key generation. AES key wrap (Advanced-Encryption-Standard) provides key-wrapping functionality.

Веб-сайт «Педагогическая коммуникация» как средство развития коммуникативных умений педагога в условиях цифровизации образовательных процессов

The purpose of the study is to substantiate the need to expand the list of teachers’ relevant communicative skills in the setting of professional interaction in the electronic digital educational environment through the instrumental potential of the authors’ thematic website. The paper clarifies the importance of using electronic digital teaching aids for the development of communicative skills of a modern teacher, emphasises the relevance of using a “mixed” format of education, which includes the advantages of electronic digital and traditional classical teaching aids for the development of a teacher’s communicative skills. Scientific novelty of the study lies in proposing the use of the authors’ website “Pedagogical Communication” as the main element in the formation and adjustment of an individual educational trajectory in the context of developing a teacher’s communicative skills. As a result of the study, the list of the main educational tools for the development of a teacher’s communicative skills has been formalised and important positive effects of their use have been specified.

САМООСВІТНЯ ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ ВЧИТЕЛЯ ІНОЗЕМНИХ МОВ ЯК ФАКТОР АДАПТАЦІЇ ДО ІНДІВІДУАЛІЗАЦІЇ ПРОФЕСІЙНОЇ ПІДГОТОВКИ У ЗВО

This study was conducted to determine and outline the main theoretical characteristics of the concepts of «self-education», «self-educational activities of future foreign languages teacher», «adaptation», «professional adaptation of foreign languages teacher», «individualization of professional training of future foreign languages teacher» at institutions of higher education. The author defined self-educational activity as: internal, conscious, purposeful process of personal improvement and professional growth of future teachers-philologists in the field of foreign languages ​​based on the processes of self-knowledge, self-education, self-control and self-realization in the process of professional training through the development of psychological-pedagogical qualities of the personality of a foreign language teacher. The self-educational activity of a foreign languages teacher in the experimental environment of an educational institution is considered productive. It is characterized by creative initiative, pedagogical search, development of pedagogical skills, motivation of self-education, interest in the results of their activities. It was noted by the author that the self-educational activity in the process of individualization of professional training of future foreign languages teacher is a process characterized by: multifunctionality and multi-activity of a university teacher who implements advanced pedagogical-methodological experience, forms own experience, creates new didactic sources of information (educational-methodical complexes, methodical manuals, monographs, electronic teaching aids); multi-vector training of future foreign languages teacher and creating a model of individualized learning trajectory (independent and self-developing activities - group work on a foreign language; writing abstracts, articles and participation in national and international conferences on foreign languages; academic mobility and grant activities; internships abroad).

Distance educational technologies in the organization of independent work of students

The organization of independent work of students in the process of studying professional modules in the specialty 23.02.01 “Organization of transportation and transport management (by type)” with the help of electronic training courses is considered. Educational institutions determine the forms and requirements for the organization and control of independent work of students in an educational organization.These requirements are developed and approved in the form of regulations or guidelines for organizing independent work. Teachers of the Primorsky Institute of Railway Transport are actively using an automated distance education system using the LMS Moodle virtual environment. The platform provides a space for collaboration between teachers and students. In Moodle, various options are available for assessing student performance, the results of independent work, for example, learning new material, testing. Describes the use of course elements such as “Lecture”, “Assignment”, “Glossary”, “Seminar”, “Test”. The analysis of the features of independent work of students of Primorsky Institute of Railway Transport in the distance learning system, as well as methods of its control, was carried out.A lot of work has been done at Primorsky Institute of Railway Transport to create electronic teaching aids widely used in the educational process and place them in the electronic educational environment of the institute. The main value of methodical electronic educational resources is the availability for students of all forms of education subscribed to this training course.

Microwave-assisted rapid synthesis of Cu2S:ZnIn2S4 marigold-like nanoflower heterojunctions and enhanced visible light photocatalytic hydrogen production via Pt sensitization

In this work, a rapid microwave synthesis route is presented for the fabrication of morphology-controlled Cu2S: ZnIn2S4 marigold-like nanoflower heterojunction photocatalysts. The Cu-to-Zn-metal -cation (Cu:Zn) ratios were used to control the Cu2S: ZnIn2S4 heterojunction during the second step of microwave synthesis. The formation of Cu2S: ZnIn2S4 heterojunction is evidenced by XRD, TEM and XPS analyses. The optimum electronic interaction aids to stimulate electron-hole charge separation kinetics and promote the solar hydrogen (H2) evolution performance in microwave-assisted 5 mol.% Cu2S:ZnIn2S4 (Cu2S:ZIS–5) heterojunction. Benefiting from the synergy between marigold-like morphology, heterojunction, and Pt loading, the optimum Pt loaded Cu2S: ZIS–5 marigold nanoflowers (Pt/Cu2S:ZIS–5) exhibited the 862 µmol of photocatalytic H2 production after 3 h under visible light irradiation (≥420 nm). The time-resolved PL spectrum showed more than double carrier lifetime in Pt/Cu2S: ZIS–5 heterojunction (45 ns) than that of Pt/ZIS–15 (20 ns). These visible light-responsive Pt/Cu2S:ZIS marigold-like nanoflower heterojunction shows promising photostability, which would open new opportunities for the development of highly efficient ternary metal-chalcogenide photocatalysts for solar hydrogen generation.

Partnering a Compensatory Application with Activity-Aware Prompting to Improve Use in Individuals with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Clinical Trial.

Compensatory aids can help mitigate the impact of progressive cognitive impairment on daily living. We evaluate whether the learning and sustained use of an Electronic Memory and Management Aid (EMMA) application can be augmented through a partnership with real-time, activity-aware transition-based prompting delivered by a smart home. Thirty-two adults who met criteria for amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) were randomized to learn to use the EMMA app on its own (N = 17) or when partnered with smart home prompting (N = 15). The four-week, five-session manualized EMMA training was conducted individually in participant homes by trained clinicians. Monthly questionnaires were completed by phone with trained personnel blind to study hypotheses. EMMA data metrics were collected continuously for four months. For the partnered condition, activity-aware prompting was on during training and post-training months 1 and 3, and off during post-training month 2. The analyzed aMCI sample included 15 EMMA-only and 14 partnered. Compared to the EMMA-only condition, by week four of training, participants in the partnered condition were engaging with EMMA more times daily and using more basic and advanced features. These advantages were maintained throughout the post-training phase with less loss of EMMA app use over time. There was little differential impact of the intervention on self-report primary (everyday functioning, quality of life) and secondary (coping, satisfaction with life) outcomes. Activity-aware prompting technology enhanced acquisition, habit formation and long-term use of a digital device by individuals with aMCI. (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03453554).

A Deep Learning Based Model to Assist Blind People in Their Navigation

Aim/Purpose: This paper proposes a new approach to developing a deep learning-based prototyping wearable model which can assist blind and visually disabled people to recognize their environments and navigate through them. As a result, visually impaired people will be able to manage day-to-day activities and navigate through the world around them more easily. Background: In recent decades, the development of navigational devices has posed challenges for researchers to design smart guidance systems for visually impaired and blind individuals in navigating through known or unknown environments. Efforts need to be made to analyze the existing research from a historical perspective. Early studies of electronic travel aids should be integrated with the use of assistive technology-based artificial vision models for visually impaired persons. Methodology: This paper is an advancement of our previous research work, where we performed a sensor-based navigation system. In this research, the navigation of the visually disabled person is carried out with a vision-based 3D-designed wearable model and a vision-based smart stick. The wearable model used a neural network-based You Only Look Once (YOLO) algorithm to detect the course of the navigational path which is augmented by a GPS-based smart Stick. Over 100 images of each of the three classes, namely straight path, left path and right path, are being trained using supervised learning. The model accurately predicts a straight path with 79% mean average precision (mAP), the right path with 83% mAP, and the left path with 85% mAP. The average accuracy of the wearable model is 82.33% and that of the smart stick is 96.14% which combined gives an overall accuracy of 89.24%. Contribution: This research contributes to the design of a low-cost navigational standalone system that will be handy to use and help people to navigate safely in real-time scenarios. The challenging self-built dataset of various paths is generated and transfer learning is performed on the YOLO-v5 model after augmentation and manual annotation. To analyze and evaluate the model, various metrics, such as model losses, recall value, precision, and maP, are used. Findings: These were the main findings of the study: • To detect objects, the deep learning model uses a higher version of YOLO, i.e., a YOLOv5 detector, that may help those with visual im-pairments to improve their quality of navigational mobilities in known or unknown environments. • The developed standalone model has an option to be integrated into any other assistive applications like Electronic Travel Aids (ETAs) • It is the single neural network technology that allows the model to achieve high levels of detection accuracy of around 0.823 mAP with a custom dataset as compared to 0.895 with the COCO dataset. Due to its lightning-speed of 45 FPS object detection technology, it has become popular. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners can help the model’s efficiency by increasing the sample size and classes used in training the model. Recommendation for Researchers: To detect objects in an image or live cam, there are various algorithms, e.g., R-CNN, Retina Net, Single Shot Detector (SSD), YOLO. Researchers can choose to use the YOLO version owing to its superior performance. Moreover, one of the YOLO versions, YOLOv5, outperforms its other versions such as YOLOv3 and YOLOv4 in terms of speed and accuracy. Impact on Society: We discuss new low-cost technologies that enable visually impaired people to navigate effectively in indoor environments. Future Research: The future of deep learning could incorporate recurrent neural networks on a larger set of data with special AI-based processors to avoid latency.