Range sensor-based assistive technology solutions for people with visual impairment: a review

Abstract

Purpose

There are about 2.2 billion people with visual impairment all over the world. In order to improve the quality of life for visually impaired people, various devices have been developed that support the users to make them capable of performing everyday work. There have been considerable advancements in the development of assistive devices over the last few decades. This work aims to review the research work of past decade to explore the technologies used in the assistive devices for the mobility of the people with visual impairment. It focuses on range sensors based (RSB) solutions and to present a comprehensive comparison for researchers to improve the quality of the assistive devices.

Methods

In order to improve life quality of about 2.2 billion people with visual impairment in the world, various assistive devices have been developed. This work aims to review the research work of past decade to explore the technologies used in the assistive devices for the mobility of the people with visual impairment. It focuses on RSB solutions and their comparison.

Results

Various devices developed or the people with visual impairment, in last decade are described along with their workings. Authors also introduced, their own, newly developed assistive device for the people with visual impairment. The feedback from the people with visual impairment, about assistive technology, is also included in the paper.

Conclusions

This study will benefit researchers developing assistive devices to help for the mobility of the people with visual impairment. Through user feedback and evaluation of the assistive devices, the authors have come to the conclusion that performance, weight and cost of the assistive devices are always important considerations to make the assistive devices more popular among their users.

Implication for rehabilitation

• Although assistive device cannot rehabilitate a visually impaired person, range sensor-based assistive device may have following implications:

• •Use of assistive device is growing, and performance, weight and cost of assistive devices are always important considerations so that proposed technology solution should widely be accepted and adopted by the visually impaired people.

• •The adaptability and acceptability of an assistive device by the visually impaired people must be considered during design phase.

• •Proposed assistive technological solutions should meet all the needed functions.

• •Performance of these devices should be assessed in application context so that these devices may help the visually impaired to perform their tasks independently.

• •At the end, a new light weight and low-cost device developed by authors, is also given, that could be used to assist the visually impaired people to move independently.

Keywords:

• Assistive technology (AT)
• visually impaired
• electronic travel aid (ETA)
• range sensors based assistive devices

Acknowledgements

User survey is conducted with the help of AKAB School for Blind, Mirpur AJK.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflict of interest, and each author has following contribution. Survey from visually impaired people: Prof Ilyas Ayub and Saqaf Iftikhar. Writeup and literature review: Dr. Sajjad Manzoor, Saqaf Iftikhar, Aequm Shahid and Anwar Ul Haq. Checking for mistakes: Dr. Muhammad Wasif and Dr. Muhammad Shafique.

Additional information

Funding

This research is funded by Higher Education Commission, Pakistan under HEC-TDF-02-203 Project.