Indoor navigation for visually impaired using AR markers

Helping people with visual difficulties navigating indoor is challenging. Unlike most of outdoor navigation systems, indoor navigation devices are not able to receive satellite signals. Moreover, indoor navigation usually requires higher positioning accuracy when compared with outdoor applications. In this paper, we propose an indoor positioning system based on AR (augmented reality) markers and computer vision techniques. In the proposed system, devices with camera such as smart phone will be used to provide position information by reading AR markers placed in the environments, subsequently help users gain awareness of their locations. With the assistance of proposed system, visually impaired people may be able to navigate indoor by following the instruction generated by their smart phones. Method to register indoor environment with AR markers will also be discussed in this paper. To analyze the accuracy of the system, data collected in experiment will also be presented.