Analysis of Obstruction Avoidance Assistants to Enhance the Mobility of Visually Impaired Person: A Systematic Review

In the field of research for assistive technology, the advancement of navigational tools for those who are blind had emerged as a major concern. This article offers valuable insights for researchers working on assistive technologies for people who are blind or visually impaired, specifically focusing on indoor and outdoor navigation systems. To create such systems, it is important to study past research in this area, starting from early investigations on electronic travel aids to the more recent utilization of advanced artificial vision models. This paper aims to provide an effective vision for researchers to use in developing technological instruments for the visually impaired. This process involves a comprehensive evaluation of various technological approaches in order to achieve the challenging goal of creating an effective navigation system. We carried out a separate systematic review because papers in this field tend to focus more on software-based computer vision solutions than on hardware. We have analyzed 191 relevant studies published between 2011 and 2022 to create a comprehensive understanding of the topic at hand. This systematic mapping process will assist researchers, engineers, and practitioners in making informed decisions by identifying shortcomings in current navigation assistance technology and proposing new and improved smart assistant applications that can ensure the safety and accuracy of direction for people who are blind or visually impaired.