A Camera-Based Mobility Aid for Visually Impaired People

Abstract

We present a wearable assistance system for visually impaired persons that perceives the environment with a stereo camera system and communicates obstacles and other objects to the user in form of intuitive acoustic feedback. The system is designed to complement traditional assistance aids. We describe the core techniques of scene understanding, head tracking, and sonification and show in an experimental study that it enables users to walk in unknown urban terrain and to avoid obstacles safely.