An Indoor Navigation System for Visually Impaired People Using a Path Finding Algorithm and a Wearable Cap

This paper represents the design and implementation of an indoor based navigation system for visually impaired people using a path finding algorithm and a wearable cap. This development of the navigation system consists of two modules: a Wearable part and a schematic of the area where the navigation system works by guiding the user. The wearable segment consists of a cap designed with IR receivers, an Arduino Nano processor, a headphone and an ultrasonic sensor. The schematic segment plans for the movement directions inside a room by dividing the room area into cells with a predefined matrix containing location information. For navigating the user, sixteen IR transmitters which continuously monitor the user position are placed at equal interval in the XY (8 in X-plane and 8 in Y-plane) directions of the indoor environment. A Braille keypad is used by the user where he gave the cell number for determining destination position. A path finding algorithm has been developed for determining the position of the blind person and guide him/her to his/her destination. The developed algorithm detects the position of the user by receiving continuous data from transmitter and guide the user to his/her destination by voice command. The ultrasonic sensor mounted on the cap detects the obstacles along the pathway of the visually impaired person. This proposed navigation system does not require any complex infrastructure design or the necessity of holding any extra assistive device by the user (i.e. augmented cane, smartphone, cameras). In the proposed design, prerecorded voice command will provide movement guideline to every edge of the indoor environment according to the user's destination choice. This makes this navigation system relatively simple and user friendly for those who are not much familiar with the most advanced technology and people with physical disabilities. Moreover, this proposed navigation system does not need GPS or any telecommunication networks which makes it suitable for use in rural areas where there is no telecommunication network coverage. In conclusion, the proposed system is relatively cheaper to implement in comparison to other existing navigation system, which will contribute to the betterment of the visually impaired people's lifestyle of developing and under developed countries.