Helping the visually impaired map the real world

• Main Author: Lim, Boon Leng
• Other Authors: Sinha Sharad
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Computer science and engineering::Software::Software engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76143
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This report presents the experimental design and implementation of an Unsighted Indoor Navigation System (UINS) for the Visually Impaired using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. This system consists of multiple BLE beacons to aid in position trilateration and proximity ranging, and an Android application running on a BLE-supported Android device that communicates with the beacons and provide navigation through audio. For this project, the environment of this project is limited to the hallway of Faculty Offices in the School of Computer Science and Engineering (SCSE), Block C. The beacons are placed on the doors of office rooms and washrooms (to simulate destinations) in the hallway. The purpose of this system is to allow the visually impaired to navigate themselves in unfamiliar indoor environments. It is not uncommon to travel out of familiar routes and places in our daily lives and very much so for the visually impaired, it is important for them to be able reach their destination safely to continue with their activities. Upon launching the application, it will first interact with detected beacons to provide a list of destinations to the user, then provide audio navigations to reach the desired place.