Interactive travel aid for the visually impaired: From depth maps to sonic patterns and verbal messages

Abstract

This paper presents user trials of a prototype micro-navigation aid for the visually impaired. The main advantage of the system is its small form factor. The device consists of a Structure Sensor depth camera, a smartphone, a remote controller and a pair of headphones. An original feature of the system is its interactivity. The user can activate different space scanning modes and different sound presentation schemes for 3D scenes on demand. The results of the trials are documented by timeline logs recording the activation of different interactive modes. The aim of the first trial was to test system capability for aiding the visually impaired to avoid obstacles. The second tested system efficiency at detecting open spaces. The two visually impaired testers performed the trials successfully, although the times required to complete the tasks seem rather long. Nevertheless, the trials show the potential usefulness of the system as a navigational aid and have enabled us to introduce numerous improvements to the tested prototype.