Indoor navigation with mobile augmented reality and beacon technology for wheelchair users

Physical disability is an obstacle to those who suffer with such, as it deprives the individual from participating in routine activities, without relying on the help of others. Although the difficulties faced are of a wide range, one in particular stands out: navigation in internal environments (indoors). In this context, the main motivation of this research is to investigate the use of Mobile Augmented Reality and Beacon technologies to support indoor navigation for wheelchair individuals. Such an initiative is very important since it emphasizes the use of new tools that can provide effective improvements in terms of social inclusion. To evaluate the proposed solution tests were conducted with regular users. One of the novel features implemented includes the ability to identify best routes free of potential hazards such as obstacles and ramps. Results shows that the proposed solution support safe indoor navigation for wheelchair users.