Attached to the tip of a standard white cane, the device uses an accelerometer, three axis magnetic field meter, three axis gyroscope, camera, microphone and a barometer for floor level detection. The information gathered by each of these technologies will be used to calculate the position of an obstacle surrounding the white cane and navigate the user around it.
While indoor mapping is advancing rapidly, the Curtin University device is intended to guide the user around indoor environments which are frequently changed, such as a conference room with moveable chairs. In this way, the device works in a similar way to a Guide Dog.
Project leader Dr Iain Murray said, “While many indoor locations already have a map that the blind can use to find their way around, they don’t allow for change and can therefore be quite dangerous.
“For instance, a conference room is forever changing, the chairs are always set up differently and people will move around. We are developing a map system that can adjust for these movements, and then upload this new data to a system for the next vision impaired person to enter the room.”
The device is being developed through six different research projects, with five students developing the sensors and another dedicated to combining each sensor into one user-friendly and low-cost system. The device will be compatible with iPhones, iPads and Android smartphones and tablets. No information is currently available on when the research will be completed.
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