Wearable sensor technology
Various electronic travel aids help visually impaired people navigate indoor environments. Yet, such devices often provide limited situational awareness, while audio-based systems interrupt the main information channel available to visually impaired people. The EU-funded RANGE-IT (Detection and multimodal presentation of indoor objects for visually impaired people) project was intended to solve such problems. The consortium's system delivers sensor information from 3D cameras to the user via a wearable tactile (vibration) belt unit. Thus, the user may obtain warnings about obstacles within 5 m, without interruption to the environmental sounds upon which hearing-impaired people rely. The unit also offers an optional audio interface mode. Project development and testing yielded a system able to help users determine a room's structure. Users were able to judge distance to walls and major objects, and also to locate stairs and open doors. Researchers provided two operational modes. One detected hazards while the user walked, while an exploration mode scanned a room while the user was stationary. The team's gap analysis considered the distance between the current prototype and potential future exploitation as a product. Conclusions indicated that numerous limitations must be solved before product launch. The project recommended establishing a further project with input from psychologists concerning user experience. Other project work involved searches for relevant patents, plus numerous dissemination activities. When ready, the RANGE-IT device may offer visually impaired people hope for a more independent life. The final product is also expected to be economical and easily maintained.
Keywords
Indoor objects, visually impaired, RANGE-IT, multimodal presentation
