Leveraging Maps and Computer Vision to Support Indoor Navigation for Blind Travelers

利用地图和计算机视觉支持室内 为盲人旅行者导航 总结 该项目的目标是开发一个基于智能手机的寻路应用程序，旨在帮助 有视觉障碍的人更容易和独立地在室内环境中导航。它 利用计算机视觉和智能手机传感器来估计和跟踪用户的位置， 相对于室内环境的地图的真实的时间，提供基于音频的逐向导航 将用户引导到期望的目的地的方向。另一个选项是提供音频或 对环境中附近感兴趣点的存在，例如出口， 电梯、洗手间和会议室。该应用程序通过识别用户的位置来估计用户的位置， 环境中存在的标准信息标志，跟踪用户的轨迹， 将其与已经用关于标志和地标的信息注释的数字地图相关联。 与其他室内寻路方法相比，我们的计算机视觉和基于传感器的 这种方法的优点是既不需要安装物理基础设施， 保持（如iBeacon）或精确的先前校准（如空间参考 射频签名采集过程所需的基于Wi-Fi的系统），这是 可能阻碍广泛采用的昂贵措施。我们建议的系统具有 有可能极大地扩大室内空间安全、独立导航的机会， 有视觉障碍的人。在补助期即将结束时， （包括文档）将作为自由和开放源码软件（FOSS）发布。

Leveraging Maps and Computer Vision to Support Indoor Navigation for Blind Travelers Summary The goal of this project is to develop a smartphone-based wayfinding app designed to help people with visual impairments navigate indoor environments more easily and independently. It harnesses computer vision and smartphone sensors to estimate and track the user's location in real time relative to a map of the indoor environment, providing audio-based turn-by-turn directions to guide the user to a desired destination. An additional option is to provide audio or tactile alerts to the presence of nearby points of interest in the environment, such as exits, elevators, restrooms and meeting rooms. The app estimates the user's location by recognizing standard informational signs present in the environment, tracking the user's trajectory and relating it to a digital map that has been annotated with information about signs and landmarks. Compared with other indoor wayfinding approaches, our computer vision and sensor-based approach has the advantage of requiring neither physical infrastructure to be installed and maintained (such as iBeacons) nor precise prior calibration (such as the spatially referenced radiofrequency signature acquisition process required for Wi-Fi-based systems), which are costly measures that are likely to impede widespread adoption. Our proposed system has the potential to greatly expand opportunities for safe, independent navigation of indoor spaces for people with visual impairments. Towards the end of the grant period, the wayfinding software (including documentation) will be released as free and open source software (FOSS).