Optical Device Indicating a Safe Free Path to Blind People

Villanueva, José Felipe; Farcy, René

doi:10.1109/tim.2011.2160910

Cited by 61 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Therefore, their use could be extended to other applications. For example, on a similar theme, a variant of these sensors is being developed by our team for electronic white canes [ 28 ], where it will be used to anticipate the presence of drops in order to transmit information to the user. Here again, the portable peculiarity of the sensor is essential since it is directly attached to the user’s white cane, influencing its weight and requiring low power consumption, such that the latter can be powered by an electric battery, in order to preserve its wearable characteristics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a New Negative Obstacle Sensor for Augmented Electric Wheelchair

Favey

Farcy

Donnez

et al. 2021

Sensors

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Due to pathologies or age-related problems, in some disabled people, motor impairment is associated with cognitive and/or visual impairments. This combination of limitations unfortunately leads to an inability to move around independently. Indeed, their situation does not allow them to use a conventional electric wheelchair, for safety reasons, and for the moment there is no other technological solution providing safe movement capacity. This lack of access to an autonomous travel solution has the consequence of weakening the intellectual, personal, social, cultural and moral development, as well as the life expectancy, of the people concerned. In this context, our team is working on the development of an optoelectronic system that secures the displacement of electric wheelchairs. This is a large project that requires the development of several functionalities such as: the anti-collision of the wheelchair with its environment, the prevention of falls from the wheelchair on uneven levels, and the adaptation of the system mechanically and electronically to the majority of commercially available electric wheelchair models, among others. In this article, we introduce our solution for detecting dangerous height differences, also called “negative obstacles”, through the creation of a dedicated sensor. This sensor works by optical triangulation and can embed several laser beams in order to extend its detection zone. It has the particularity of being robust in direct sunlight and rain and has a sufficiently high measurement rate to be suitable for the displacement of electric wheelchairs. We develop an adapted algorithm, and point out compromises, in particular between the orientation of the laser beams and the maximal speed of the wheelchair.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a New Negative Obstacle Sensor for Augmented Electric Wheelchair

Favey

Farcy

Donnez

et al. 2021

Sensors

Self Cite

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“…Some have proposed wearable devices such as navbelt (Shoval et al, 1998), waist-belt (Bhatlawande et al, 2012) and electronic bracelet (Bhatlawande et al, 2013) to assist VI persons for detecting low lying obstacles. An eyeglasses based on stereo vision system is proposed by Kai Lin et al (2014) as an assistive device for visually impaired laser cane (Bolgiano and Meeks, 1967), Teletact (Farcy et al, 2006) and Minitact (Villanueva and Farcy, 2011) are few examples of laser-based assistive devices. However, the laser has the drawback of not detecting transparent glass as its beam does not reflect on it.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assistive cane for visually impaired persons for uneven surface detection with orientation restraint sensing

Singh

Kapoor

2020

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Purpose The reduced ability of eyes to see clearly even with the use of glasses is known as the state of visual impairment. Among the many challenges faced, outdoor travel is one of them requiring to travel through surfaces, which has potholes and bumps. Design/methodology/approach The depth of the pothole and height of the bump is also conveyed to the user through different vibration pattern of various intensity. With available electronic travel aids, the visually impaired persons are still more inclined to rely on their white cane than carrying additional equipment for obstacle avoidance. In the system, all the components can be attached to the white cane, requiring no additional device to carry. Findings Upon experimentation with different obstacle types, the system obtained a 24.88% higher score in comparison to normal walking cane. A comparison with the state of the art available systems is also provided. Originality/value Moreover, the accuracy of the assistive cane can be heavily degraded if the cane is not properly held by the user. To restrict the user to hold the cane in only required orientation an alignment sensing switch is also proposed, which is missing in the current available literature.

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“…10 The possibility of adopting electromagnetic and optical systems to implement travel aids for blind people has been described. 11,12 The Kahru Tactile Outdoor Navigator 13 is a wearable tactile harness-vest display that uses vibrating motors to provide directional navigation instructions to the user. Examples of devices exploiting a camera to perceive the environment and convenient translation of its contents into auditory or tactile perception include the vOICe system 14 and Intelligent Glasses.…”

Section: Assistive Systems For Autonomous Mobility In the Blindmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smart homecare technologies for the visually impaired: recent advances

Andò¹,

Lombardo²,

Marletta³

2014

SHTT

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Accessibility and autonomy are fundamental needs for people with visual impairments wishing to enjoy their rights as citizens and to access buildings, premises, and other facilities. Dealing with the possibility of autonomously performing activities of daily living, two main aspects are mandatory: autonomous mobility and living independently. In particular, dealing with autonomous accessibility is strictly related to the possibility to perceive the environment and to gain a realistic and intuitive awareness of ongoing events and hazards. In order to promote living independently, caregivers (whether relatives or assistive services) need to be aware of the user's physical surroundings. The literature is rich in attempts to provide technical solutions to improve quality of life and autonomy for frail people, particularly with regard to the visually impaired. This review summarizes "state of the art" electronic aids for the visually impaired, and aims to to highlight the benefits and drawbacks of these aids.

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Optical Device Indicating a Safe Free Path to Blind People

Cited by 61 publications

References 8 publications

Development of a New Negative Obstacle Sensor for Augmented Electric Wheelchair

Development of a New Negative Obstacle Sensor for Augmented Electric Wheelchair

Assistive cane for visually impaired persons for uneven surface detection with orientation restraint sensing

Smart homecare technologies for the visually impaired: recent advances

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