System of acoustic assistance in spatial orientation for the blind

Abstract

The technological development provides better and more mobile devices to aid disabled people. All work conducted to improve the life of disabled people constitute an important part of science. The paper describes the issues related to anatomy and physiology of sight and hearing organs, imagination abilities of the blind and assisting devices for those people. The authors of this work have developed a prototype of an electronic device which navigates a blind person by means of sound signals. Sounds are meant to provide the blind with a simplified map of the object depth in their path. What makes the work innovative is the Kinect sensor applied to scan the space in front of the user as well as the set of algorithms designed to learn and generate acoustic space, which also take into account the tilt of the head. The carried out experiments indicate the correct interpretation of the sound signals being modelled. The tests conducted on the people prove the developed concept to be highly efficient.