A hassle-free shopping experience for the visually impaired: An assistive technology application

Abstract

The issues and challenges faced by the Visually Impaired (VI) bring forth an insurmountable inequality of living conditions which needs immediate attention. The objective of this work is to render an in-depth understanding of some of the issues faced by the VI and to propose an Assistive Technology (AT) framework for assisting the VI to have a smooth and carefree shopping experience, including navigation in a supermarket to the sections specified by the VI user, identification of objects of interest, hassle-free billing, and registration for a subscription-based offer notification system based on the user’s shopping habits and preferences. The ultimate goal is to improve the Quality of Life (QoL) led by the VI person in as many ways as possible.