Construction and Analysis of a Novel Wearable Assistive Device for a Visually Impaired Person

Abstract

In this paper, we have given the design and development of a new wearable device that assists visually impaired individuals to travel independently and confidently. The newly proposed device is based on range-based sensors and would work effectively in both indoor and outdoor conditions. It is constructed in the form of two separate modules; one module is designed such that it can be attached to the waist belt of the user, and the other module is designed to wear it on ankle of the user. Both the modules communicate with each other using wireless communication and can cover the full front environment of the user. The information about the front environment is transmitted to the user, via headphone, by sending a set of voice instructions, stored in a memory card added in the belt module. In order to use the device in crowd mode, appropriate networking techniques were also implemented in the prototype such that the interference of two or more devices in the close vicinity can be avoided. In the end, effectiveness of the device is analyzed and proved by conducting experiments and obtaining statistical results.