White Cane Research Articles

Robotic Assistant for Object Recognition Using Convolutional Neural Network

Visually impaired persons encounter certain challenges, which include access to information, environmental navigation, and obstacle detection. Navigating daily life becomes a big task with challenges relating to the search for misplaced personal items and being aware of objects in their environment to avoid collision. This necessitates the need for automated solutions to facilitate object recognition. While traditional methods like guide dogs, white canes, and Braille have offered valuable solutions, recent technological solutions, including smartphone-based recognition systems and portable cameras, have encountered limitations such as constraints relating to cultural-specific, device-specific, and lack of system autonomy. This study addressed and provided solutions to the limitations offered by recent solutions by introducing a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) object recognition system integrated into a mobile robot designed to function as a robotic assistant for visually impaired persons. The robotic assistant is capable of moving around in a confined environment. It incorporates a Raspberry Pi with a camera programmed to recognize three objects: mobile phones, mice, and chairs. A Convolutional Neural Network model was trained for object recognition, with 30% of the images used for testing. The training was conducted using the Yolov3 model in Google Colab. Qualitative evaluation of the recognition system yielded a precision of 79%, recall of 96%, and accuracy of 80% for the Robotic Assistant. It also includes a Graphical User Interface where users can easily control the movement and speed of the robotic assistant. The developed robotic assistant significantly enhances autonomy and object recognition, promising substantial benefits in the daily navigation of visually impaired individuals.

Analysis of veering during gait in blind individuals

BackgroundVeering occurs during blind walking, which causes individuals to deviate from crosswalks or fall off platforms. Despite being linked to static postural control, the relationship between veering and gait function (gait variability and plantar pressure), which is presumed to be related to dynamic postural control, has yet to be fully understood. Research questionHow do gait variability and plantar pressure affect veering? MethodsThis experiment involved a walking task in which 11 blind adults were instructed to walk along a straight path using a white cane. We measured the veering values and analyzed the relationship between gait variability and plantar pressure. ResultsOne participant with a particularly severe veering tendency was excluded from the analysis. Based on the veering characteristics of the participants, the walking trajectories were classified as veering to the left (14 trials) or the right (14 trials) sides. Correlation analysis showed no significant correlation between the veering value and gait variability (vertical, lateral, and anterior-posterior). Plantar pressure (the ball of the fifth toe and the total) was significantly negatively correlate with the veering value. In contrast, the plantar pressure results for the participant who was excluded showed a different characteristic. SignificanceWe hypothesized that blind individuals would exhibit dynamic postural control to stay on a straight path by increasing the plantar pressure on the ball of the fifth toe and the total pressure on the opposite foot when veering occurs. However, this adaptation was not observed in a blind individual with severe veering tendencies.

Perception and satisfaction of blind individuals regarding an electronic cane prototype with a wearable haptic device.

This study aimed to evaluate the perception and degree of satisfaction of blind individuals regarding an electronic cane prototype with a wearable haptic interface. Two scenarios with different obstacles were created to conduct tests with the canes (the user's cane and the prototype one). The perception and satisfaction of participants regarding the electronic cane were assessed using a questionnaire, the number of collisions during the tests, and the time each individual took to complete the course in each scenario. Ten blind individuals who used the white cane participated in this study. Eight were males, and two were females. Their age ranged from 23 to 43 (average 32.3 ± 7.13 years and median 32 years). There was a tendency for fewer collisions with ground obstacles when the electronic cane was used than when the white cane was used. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the number of collisions and the course completion time in each scenario with either canes tested. Overall, the perception and satisfaction of individuals regarding the prototype used were positive.

Inaccessibility maps to support sighted people using visually impaired people’s white cane data

BACKGROUND: Visually impaired people have been considered only as “receivers” of support; however, few studies have considered them as “givers” of support to sighted people. OBJECTIVE: To support the walking of sighted people using information available specifically to the visually impaired. METHODS: Utilizing white cane usage data of visually impaired people to create inaccessibility maps for sighted people. RESULTS: A user study conducted with elderly people and their stakeholders, who had high accessibility needs found that the maps were generally useful as long as they were within the user’s area of interest. CONCLUSIONS: Although the proposed method should be practically beneficial to users, the information detected by the system should be expanded from white cane use data, its accuracy, and more data collected from visually impaired people.

Reading Assistant for Visually Challenged Peoples with Advance Image Capturing Technique Using Machine Learning

Since blindness prevents a person from learning about their surroundings, it is difficult for them to independently navigate, recognise items, avoid hazards, and read. In this essay, we provide a ground-breaking system for visually impaired people who use assistive technology. The concept incorporates a camera, sensors, and effective image processing algorithms that use Raspberry Pi for object detection and obstacle avoidance. Ultrasonic sensors and the camera both measure the user's distance from the obstruction. The system consists of integrated reading help that first generates an audio response before converting images to text. The complete apparatus is small and light, and it can be easily and inexpensively mounted on a regular pair of eyeglasses. The entire system is affordable, easy to use, and can be attached to a regular pair of eyeglasses. It is also portable and lightweight. Ten people who are completely blind will be used to compare the performance of the suggested device to the traditional white cane. The evaluations are conducted in controlled environments intended to mimic day-to-day activities for blind persons. The findings show that the proposed device provides more accessibility, comfort, and simplicity of navigation for the blind when compared to the white cane.

Two Types of Demonstration Through Guided Touch with Cane: Instruction Sequences in Orientation and Mobility Training for a Person with Visual Impairments

AbstractPersons with visual impairments (hereafter PVI) detect and discover obstacles and road conditions by touching with a white cane when walking on the streets. In one training session, an Orientation and Mobility specialist (hereafter SPT) guided a PVI by grasping and moving the cane that the PVI was holding. We conducted a multimodal analysis of two instruction sequences, one a "proving and achieving" demonstration (Sacks in Lectures on conversation, Blackwell, 1992) and the other a "learnable" (Zemel and Koschmann, in Discourse Stud 16:163–183, 2014) demonstration. The achieving demonstration proved the assessment of the PVI's performance. In the "learnable" demonstration, the PVI was able to receive and perform the most critical part of the "learnable" of the long contact touch without the aid of talk. Sharing a single cane touch is an efficient way for both the guiding SPT and the guided PVI to jointly experience and understand the environmental features. The SPT did not need to verbally confirm that the guided touch was accountable to the PVI and seemed confident that intersubjectivity with the PVI had been established. A unique form of being with others and achieving intersubjectivity in society was identified. In traditional learning instruction, it has been assumed that the learnable is presented and communicated visually and audibly. However, through guided touch learnable is presented and conveyed effectively in the cases of this paper. It seems that the sense of touch has been considered to be just for the occasion, but this is an example of something that is not just for the occasion but is consequential, that is, usable for further occasions. The data is in Japanese.

Taking Control: A Novel Galvanic Stimulation Device for the Visually Impaired.

The white cane has been the prominent and widely used mobility aid by visually impaired persons for many years, however, there are some limitations associated with the white cane mobility aid device. Primarily, the white cane exhibits restricted capability in detecting ground-level obstacles in proximity and does not provide reliable detection of aerial obstacles. Our work proposes a device for the safe navigation of visually impaired persons utilizing a non-invasive galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) technique. By delivering a signal (1-1.2mA) delivered behind the ear via electrode pads to the vestibular system, we induce a sensation of steering thereby facilitating navigation. Our proposed device utilizes a combination of Intel’s D435 depth camera and an object detection model, YOLOv5, to identify and process the detection of obstacles within a 3-meter range. Within 0.2 seconds, the object is detected, and the algorithm assesses the situation and sends instructions via User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets wirelessly to the GVS device. The device receives the packets and steers the subject (human) autonomously. In total, four tests with different scenarios have been conducted, through experimentation, it was found that the system could successfully detect, process, and transmit geospatial information to the GVS module; and steers the user into the correct trajectory to avoid any hazards obstructing the user’s path.

Development and validation of a white cane use perceived advantages and disadvantages (WCPAD) questionnaire

BackgroundThe white cane is globally an important tool in orientation and mobility for blind and visually impaired people, but it is not often used. The goal of this study was to develop and validate the white cane use perceived advantages and disadvantages (WCPAD) questionnaire for detecting effective factors in the use or non-use of canes.MethodThe initial questionnaire items were extracted through semi-structured interviews with 21 blind or severely impaired vision individuals under two main themes, the perceived advantages, and disadvantages of using a white cane. Linguistic validity and writing evaluation with seven experts, face validity with 23 blind persons, content validity ratio (CVR), and content validity index (CVI) were used for assessment of validity. Internal and external reliability assessment was done using Cronbach’s alpha and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Explanatory factor analysis was conducted to identify the factors of the questionnaire; then, corrected item-total correlations, convergent and discriminant validity, and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) were done, and model fit indices were reported. A total of 320 blind and severe visual impaired individuals (138 males and 182 females) participated in the study. The final questionnaire contained 12 questions in perceived advantages and 21 in perceived disadvantages.ResultsThree factors (social participation, mobility, and culture) extracted for perceived advantages which explained 67.95% of the total variance, Cronbach-α for the three extracted factors was between 0.75 and 0.91. Four factors (social, safety, ergonomics, and family) for perceived disadvantages were extracted which explained 50.98% of the total variance. Cronbach-α for the four extracted factors was from 0.75 to 0.88. CFA confirmed the final models for perceived advantages and disadvantages.ConclusionWCPAD questionnaire has good reliability and validity, and the factors obtained from factor analysis can measure the reasons for using or otherwise of white canes.

Living with an iconic aid

There are plenty of objects that are conspicuous in the way they signal to the surroundings that the user has some kind of physical impairment. Most obvious are perhaps wheelchairs, motorized wheelchairs, hearing aids and crutches. These objects can be described as aids in the sense that the purpose is either to mitigate the effects of reduced physical abilities or to compensate for the loss of a sensory faculty. The focus of this article concerns an object that both increases mobility and replaces such a faltering capacity. It might even be the most iconic of all aids: the mobility cane, also known as the white cane, long cane or white stick. Based on the work at a Swedish Low Vision and Resource Centre, this article discusses the use of the white cane among people with severe and progressive visual impairment. The fact is that this aid, which for an outsider would easily seem to be a rather natural choice, can arouse completely different feelings in somebody who has a severe visual impairment. It is a well-known circumstance amongst low visions teachers and therapists that persons with acquired or progressive sight impairment are often not quite happy about using the aid. Therefore, the aim of the article is to utilize notions of everyday experiences to gain further insights into why the white cane for many of its potential users are associated with strong feelings of both personal ambiguity and social stress. In order to highlight these emotional, and still cultural and political, tensions, the discussion is grounded in critical disability studies and informed by ableism, stigma, and passing as theoretical concepts.

Development of Orientation and Mobility Training System for Visually Impaired Children Using VR.

Visually impaired children do Orientation and Mobility(O&M) training to acquire the abilities to walk alone with white cane. The abilities to walk alone are to discriminate sound sources, localize sound sources, recognizer sound motion or echoes, and form a mental map. A mental map is a map formed in the brain, and visually impaired people create a map mainly from sound information. Walking without sight is dangerous, so many assistants are needed during O&M training. However, due to the shortage of O&M specialists, the time which visually impaired children do O&M training is becoming shorter. Therefore, we developed an O&M training system on a map created in a Virtual Reality (VR) space to eliminate the danger and alarm which visually impaired children feel during O&M training, and to enable safe and secure O&M training with fewer assistants.

A Head-Mounted Assistive Device for Visually Impaired People with Warning System from Object Detection and Depth Estimation

People with visual impairment use white cane as their traditional method for perceiving the surroundings. However, the utilization of a cane is limited by its length and orientation. In Thailand, the obstacles on paveway in daily life are not located only on the floor but also above knee level which sometimes could be harmful to pedestrians, especially blind people. A head-mounted assistive device is developed to be an enhancement used with a cane for the visually impaired to comprehend their environment both lower and higher the knee level. The assistive device is designed to be compact and light-weight. It could also send the tactile feedback as a warning from vibration motors mounted on the device. To generate a warning signal, YOLOv4 is used to detect the location of obstacles and depth map from the stereo camera is used to estimate the distance mapping into 4 defined ranges: dangerous, very close, close and fine. The results indicate that the head-mounted assistive device has the ability to perceive obstacles locating farther than 0.9 m. The prediction returned 9.23%, 14.63% and 7.86% error when estimating the depth of obstacles at 1.3 m., 2.8 m. and 4.2 m. respectively. The average execution time for the device to return the command controlling vibration motors is 0.13 second and the maximum estimated time for the motor to send the haptic feedback is 1.05 second.

Sensory properties of sweet and spicy fish flakes using vinegar and water as pre-treatment

Rays are usually caught for their high-value fins, but their flesh is also in demand in Philippine tribal areas. Compared to other commercial marine fish in the local market of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines, stingrays are not very expensive, but they are high in protein. Fish flakes are a popular snack food made from intermediate moisture fish. This study evaluated sweet and spicy fish flakes made using dried stingray meat with the aid of white cane vinegar (T1) and water (T2) as pre-treatments. The newly developed fish flakes were evaluated by 100 panelists, particularly faculty and students. The results showed that the color, odor, texture, and general acceptability scores of sweet and spicy dried fish flakes did not differ significantly (P>0.05) between the two treatments. However, the taste scores showed a significant difference (P<0.05) in terms of sweetness. The sweetness score of sweet and spicy dried fish flakes pre-treatment with water (4.33 ± 0.09) was significantly higher than those pre-treatment with vinegar (3.99 ± 0.09). Moreover, the sensory quality scores suggest that either of the two treatments can be used to formulate this new fishery product. However, this new product requires further analysis, especially on shelf life, proximate and microbial analyses.

Design and evaluation of two obstacle detection devices for visually impaired people

Smart devices can assist visually impaired individuals with self-guidance and safe mobility. This study presents two remarkable electronic devices, a smart belt and smart stick, that were designed and developed for obstacle detection in the path of visually impaired using the assistive technology options. They were designed with affordability, portability, and ease of use without requiring an internet connection. In an experimental test conducted with blind participants, the two smart devices were compared to the traditional white cane in terms of accuracy (obstacle avoidance) and usability (ease of use). Participants were randomly assigned obstacles and navigated the same path to test all tools. Based on the test and among evaluation, it was determined that the smart stick was the most user-friendly tool while the smart belt was found to be more accurate, and the two smart devices are a step forward in enhancing the mobility for visual impairments.

Intelligent Blind-User Navigational Device Utilizing Image Processing

There are many thousands of blind people in the world who frequently require support. Since the white cane has long been known as an essential component of blind people's navigation, efforts have been made to enhance it by adding new sensors. Blind people are relatively comfortable inside their homes because they can pinpoint where things are, but in the outside world, as the objects are in motion, they face difficulties in locating the objects without an assistance. The research put forth strives to develop a sound navigation and range system for blind people. A real-time obstacle identification has been accomplished using ultrasonic sensors. In order to create a safe path for navigation to a destination, image processing in real-time is used for providing the blind person's perception of the size and distance of the obstacle utilizing raspberry pi for object detection. The suggested method makes use of a camera for recording the video sequence of surroundings, which it subsequently processes using a vocal input from a person who is visually impaired. It takes the location data while taking the (GPS) module for outdoor use. The location detail gathered is transported to the cloud.

Deep learning based object detection and surrounding environment description for visually impaired people

Object detection, one of the most significant contributions of computer vision and machine learning, plays an immense role in identifying and locating objects in an image or a video. We recognize distinct objects and precisely get their information through object detection, such as their size, shape, and location. This paper developed a low-cost assistive system of obstacle detection and the surrounding environment depiction to help blind people using deep learning techniques. TensorFlow object detection API and SSDLite MobileNetV2 have been used to create the proposed object detection model. The pre-trained SSDLite MobileNetV2 model is trained on the COCO dataset, with almost 328,000 images of 90 different objects. The gradient particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique has been used in this work to optimize the final layers and their corresponding hyperparameters of the MobileNetV2 model. Next, we used the Google text-to-speech module, PyAudio, playsound, and speech recognition to generate the audio feedback of the detected objects. A Raspberry Pi camera captures real-time video where real-time object detection is done frame by frame with Raspberry Pi 4B microcontroller. The proposed device is integrated into a head cap, which will help visually impaired people to detect obstacles in their path, as it is more efficient than a traditional white cane. Apart from this detection model, we trained a secondary computer vision model and named it the “ambiance mode.” In this mode, the last three convolutional layers of SSDLite MobileNetV2 are trained through transfer learning on a weather dataset. The dataset comprises around 500 images from four classes: cloudy, rainy, foggy, and sunrise. In this mode, the proposed system will narrate the surrounding scene elaborately, almost like a human describing a landscape or a beautiful sunset to a visually impaired person. The performance of the object detection and ambiance description modes are tested and evaluated in a desktop computer and Raspberry Pi embedded system. Detection accuracy and mean average precision, frame rate, confusion matrix, and ROC curve measure the model's accuracy on both setups. This low-cost proposed system is believed to help visually impaired people in their day-to-day life.

Safe Displacements Device for All Conditions Blind People

One of the challenges faced by the blind to achieve optimum mobility is obstacles detection and avoidance. The traditional aid is the mobility white cane, but nowadays, there are also electronic travel aids. However, none of them is widely used. The eBAT (electronic Buzzer for Autonomous Travel) has been designed to provide protection and easy usage, interacting with a user’s mobile phone. To improve its performance, a usage test was carried out by 25 totally blind users divided by sex, age range and autonomy in mobility. The main results are that the eBAT gives a reduction in the involuntary contacts but also decreases the walking speed. There are differences between sex, age and mobility groups but with limited statistical significance, and there are also some correlations between variables.

Fragments of luxury: Decorated glass from the Palace of Mystras, Greece

An assemblage of luxurious glass findings from the Palace of Mystras, Lakonia, Greece, was analysed via SEM/EDS and Raman spectroscopy, aiming to determine their raw materials, manufacturing technology and likely provenance. Twenty five fragments of everyday use objects of exceptional quality were studied. All fragments are decorated (with white and blue trail or canes, enameled or filigrana glass). Their date cannot be determined with specificity but has to span between the mid 13th and mid 19th c. AD, the period since the construction of the site and throughout its continuous use as the administrative centre of the Despotate of Mystras.The examination of the glass body resulted in the distinction between two groups: soda and potash glass. The provenance of the soda glass cannot be specifically determined, but production in multiple workshops seems likely, based on the relative heterogeneity of the composition. The presence of manganese as a decolourant suggests that they probably date before the 17th c.All potash glasses are enameled and likely originating from Bohemia. The examination of the enamels further corroborates the likely provenance from Bohemia, since the enamels are produced using different manufacturing processes than the Islamic and Venetian. Overall, it seems that this group of glasses was selectively imported to Mystras to cover specific stylistic preferences of the higher ranking members of the Palace, as suggested by the recovery of the samples from Building E, the administrative centre of the Palace Complex.The present study contributes to the acquisition of new knowledge about the post-Byzantine glass production and trade in southern Greece. Further analyses will provide with significant insights into the commercial, artistic and technological interactions of Mystras with the Ottoman Empire and Europe.

Identifying the walking patterns of visually impaired people by extending white cane with smartphone sensors

Identifying the walking patterns of visually impaired people by extending white cane with smartphone sensors

Collision detection and prevention for the visually impaired using computer vision and machine learning

The white cane is the most common and widely used travel aid for the blind. Its cost is not too high and many government hospitals provide it for free to needy and poor people. It is a great tool that helps blind people detect uneven surfaces, obstacles on the ground, steps, holes, and other hazards. However, it has a major drawback in detecting obstacles that are beyond the range of the white cane, especially when the object is in motion. For example, when a blind person crosses the road, they may not be able to detect a car or person coming from either side (left and right), and it is not much help to the user when navigating through crowded places, which can lead to accidents. Service animals (such as dogs, birds, and miniature horses) are good at handling these types of situations, but they are not easy to train and are very expensive. This paper takes references from many papers and proposes a collision detection and prevention system made of integration of many technologies including image processing, cloud computing, machine learning, IoT and audio production devices, with better option for the blind people for navigating through roads and crowded places and using it along with white cane will make it more effective and will be able to cover some drawbacks of the device.

Improving Navigation for Blind People in the Developing Countries: A UI/UX Perspective

Assistive technology (AT) has made many tasks possible for people with disabilities. Unfortunately, almost no technology is developed centered around the blind people of developing countries when it comes to navigating. This study explored blind people's concerns and determined the type of design and interaction of a navigation application that are more convenient and favored by blind users. Qualitative research was used to study the problems faced by blind people of developing countries while navigating. Blind people of two organizations in Bangladesh participated voluntarily in the research. The data obtained were analyzed using thematic analysis of ATLAS.ti. The data indicated that merely traveling with the white cane was not enough and there were a lot of problems faced when going from one place to another. A preference was shown for voice-assisted devices. The data were used to build two types of accessible prototypes with good UX, but different interactions, design, layout, spoken content and audio descriptions. Later, the usability testing was performed to investigate the effectiveness of the two types of prototypes from the UI/UX perspective. The results indicated that there was a greater preference for a layout with more spacing and buttons closer to the hands. Audio descriptions, spoken content and being able to navigate using the application also instills a sense of independence. The study contributes to a better knowledge of design solutions and interactions that legally blind people prefer, and to the creation of navigation tools/apps for the blind, specifically from the developing countries such as Bangladesh.