Wearable ultrasonic guiding device with white cane for the visually impaired: A preliminary verisimilitude experiment

ABSTRACT

Several assistive technologies are available to help visually impaired individuals avoid obstructions while walking. Unfortunately, white canes and medical walkers are unable to detect obstacles on the road or react to encumbrances located above the waist. In this study, I adopted the cyber-physical system approach in the development of a cap-connected device to compensate for gaps in detection associated with conventional aids for the visually impaired. I developed a verisimilar, experimental route involving the participation of seven individuals with visual impairment, including straight sections, left turns, right turns, curves, and suspended objects. My aim was to facilitate the collection of information required for the practical use of the device. My findings demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed guiding device in alerting walkers to the presence of some kinds of obstacles from the small number of subjects. That is, it shows promise for future work and research with the proposed device. My findings provide a valuable reference for the further improvement of these devices as well as the establishment of experiments involving the visually impaired.

KEYWORDS:

• cyber-physical system
• heuristic evaluation
• ubiquitous computing
• ultrasonic sensor
• usability analysis
• visually impaired
• wearable device

Acknowledgments

The author thanks all of the participants of visually impaired for their collaboration in this experimental research. The author also acknowledges Principal Lin-Guan Chang-Chien, Mr. Yao Lee, and other colleagues in the Kaohsiung Municipal Renwu Special School (KMRSS), Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The author thanks all of the students of Department of Software Engineering and Management, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Cheng Shiu University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for their preparation and maintenance of our experimental environment at KMRSS.