Design and Realization of an Electromagnetic Guiding System for Blind Running Athletes

Abstract

Nowadays the technologies aimed at improving the quality of life of people affected by visual diseases are quite common; e.g., devices to support walking or reading. Surprisingly, there is a lack of innovative technologies aimed at helping visually impaired athletes during physical activities. An example is represented by blind runners who need to be physically linked to a sighted guide by means of non-stretchable tethers during races; with consequent limitations in terms of performance and independence. This paper wants to investigate the possibility of realizing a system able to guide blind runners along a complex path, paving the way for the realization of an innovative device designed to improve their independence during training or competitions. The system consists of: (1) a mobile unit, which is placed before the runner and generates two “electromagnetic walls” delimiting the way; (2) a receiving unit (worn by the athlete) that provides vibro-tactile warnings every time the user is going outside the safe area so as to encourage him to move toward the central position. The feasibility and the utility of the system proposed are demonstrated by means of tests carried out thanks to the collaboration of a blind volunteer.

An Electromagnetic Sensor for the Autonomous Running of Visually Impaired and Blind Athletes (Part I: The Fixed Infrastructure)

“…The first idea we worked on was the realization of a system able to confine the blind runner inside a secure invisible hallway [ 9 ]. To this end, we equipped a mobile unit (it can be a vehicle or a bike) with two antennas generating two lateral narrow “EM walls”.…”

“…As with the system described above, a safe path is defined to let the athlete run autonomously, simply wearing a receiving device and following the vibro-tactile warnings generated by two sensors on his arms. The main difference with the system proposed in [ 9 ] is the employment of wires lying on the ground to realize the fixed infrastructure to be placed along the athletics track of a stadium. In detail, this solution relies on the generation of two EM boundaries with the use of two wires placed directly on the ground perimeter of a standard athletics track (400 m length), as schematically depicted in Figure 1 .…”

Sensor-Based Assistive Devices for Visually-Impaired People: Current Status, Challenges, and Future Directions

“…Other interesting devices for blind running athletes were reviewed, but are not included in our paper due to their limited scope [67,68]. The running fields is a designed field which will not include general obstacles such as stairs.…”

Insight on Electronic Travel Aids for Visually Impaired People: A Review on the Electromagnetic Technology

“…The mobile unit generates a vibro-tactile warning when the athlete is leaving the area delineated by the electromagnetic walls, to guide them towards the center of the path. A peculiar application of an electromagnetic aid for visually impaired people is reported in [33], where a system capable of guiding a blind athlete during running and physical activities was designed, realized, and tested. This arose from the need to enhance the runners' freedom during competitions or training.…”