A computer-based navigation system tailored to the needs of blind people

Abstract

For blind people it is very difficult to orientate in an urban area. Especially in an unknown environment they cannot move independently and need the help of a sighted person. With the development of a navigation system tailored to the special needs of blind people their mobility will increase. Blind people make high demands on all components of the navigation system. These requirements and possible solutions are worked out in a project with the collaboration of blind people. The development aims at a prototype of a navigation system which covers the overall spectrum of navigational components. This comprises an appropriate modeling of the navigational environment, fast routing algorithms generating lists of maneuvers, suitable positioning tools, reliable map matching algorithms for route checking, and finally, adequate guidance instructions. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.