The development of navigation tools for people who are visually impaired had become an important concern in the research area of assistive technologies. This paper gives a comprehensive review of different articles published in the area of navigation solutions for people who are visually impaired. Unlike other review papers, this review considers major solutions that work in both the indoor or/and outdoor environments which are based on different technology. From the review, it became clear that the navigation systems proposed for the target users lack some core features that are quite important for independent navigation. Also, there can be instances in which humanitarian conditions also have to be considered in the navigation system design. Based on these findings, a set of recommendations are also given which can be considered in the future design of navigation systems for blind and visually impaired people.

Smartphones are indispensable tools for many people for various assistive tasks. They are equipped with different sensors that provide data on motion, location and the environment. This paper explores the various sensors and output modalities existing in a smartphone to make it useful as a navigation support device for blind and visually impaired users. In addition, different usecase scenarios were also scrutinized where the potential of a smartphone as a navigation device can be explored further. The technology holds potential for the implementation of successful navigation support system by utilizing the various sensors and features existing in a smartphone. This in-depth analysis of the various possibilities with a smartphone in the navigation support system design might become useful in the further research in the domain.

Multimodal interaction refers to situations where users are provided with multiple modes for interacting with systems. Researchers are working on multimodality solutions in several domains. The focus of this paper is within the domain of navigation systems for supporting users with visual impairments. Although several literature reviews have covered this domain, none have gone through the research synthesis of multimodal navigation systems. This paper provides a review and analysis of multimodal navigation solutions aimed at people with visual impairments. This review also puts forward recommendations for effective multimodal navigation systems. Moreover, this review also presents the challenges faced during the design, implementation and use of multimodal navigation systems. We call for more research to better understand the users’ evolving modality preferences during navigation.

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People with visual impairments may find it hard to navigate in unfamiliar spaces. Even though several systems have been proposed to make navigation easier, such systems often ignore two essential factors for anyone using a support system: comfort and portability. This work presents a portable navigation support system for people with visual impairments. The system utilizes Smartphones as a portable platform and leverages the application of a deep learning object detection system for guiding the user during navigation. Audio output is used to communicate information about obstacles to the user. The system offers promising accuracy in object detection and distance estimation. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centered computing → Accessibility systems and tools.