Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026
09:01
Development of an Audio-based Virtual Gaming Environment to Assist with Navigation Skills in the Blind
Published on: March 27, 2013
13.7K
Indoor navigation by people with visual impairment using a digital sign system.
Gordon E Legge1, Paul J Beckmann, Bosco S Tjan
1Minnesota laboratory for Low-Vision Research, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota, United States of America.
Plos One
|October 12, 2013
Summary
Visually impaired individuals can navigate indoors independently using a new Digital Sign System. This adaptive technology aids in finding locations and following routes, demonstrating a feasible solution for enhanced mobility.
Area of Science:
- Assistive Technology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Rehabilitation Engineering
Background:
- Visually impaired individuals face significant challenges with indoor wayfinding.
- Existing navigation aids often lack the necessary adaptiveness and real-time information for independent mobility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate a Digital Sign System (DSS) for enhancing indoor wayfinding for visually impaired people.
- To assess the system's reliability and effectiveness in real-world navigation tasks.
Main Methods:
- Development of a DSS comprising digitally-encoded signs, an infrared camera-based sign-reader, image-processing software, and a mobile device with a talking digital map.
- Evaluation of four subject groups (blind, low vision, blindfolded sighted, normally sighted controls) on three distinct navigation tasks.
Main Results:
- The DSS reliably provided information during active mobility, facilitated finding points of interest, and enabled route following.
- Visually impaired participants successfully completed navigation tasks independently, albeit with longer completion times compared to sighted controls.
Conclusions:
- The developed Digital Sign System is a feasible and functional prototype for enabling independent indoor navigation for people with visual impairments.
- This technology offers a promising solution to improve the mobility and autonomy of visually impaired individuals in built environments.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Visual System
2.3K
Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
2.3K
01:12Visual Agnosia
2.0K
Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round...
2.0K