Related papers: Exploring Levels of Control for a Navigation Assis…
By the year 2023, the global population of individuals with impaired vision has surpassed 220 million. People with impaired vision will find it difficult while finding path or avoiding obstacles, and must ask for auxiliary tools for help.…
Navigational challenges significantly impact the independence and mobility of Individuals with Visual Impairment (IVI). While numerous assistive technologies exist, their adoption remains limited due to usability challenges, financial…
Blind individuals face persistent challenges in last-mile navigation, including locating entrances, identifying obstacles, and navigating complex or cluttered spaces. Although wearable cameras are increasingly used in assistive systems,…
Robotic guidance systems have shown promise in supporting blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals with wayfinding and obstacle avoidance. However, most existing systems assume a clear path and do not support a critical aspect of…
Autonomous navigation robots can increase the independence of blind people but often limit user control, following what is called in Japanese an "omakase" approach where decisions are left to the robot. This research investigates ways to…
To help the blind people walk to the destination efficiently and safely in indoor environment, a novel wearable navigation device is presented in this paper. The locating, way-finding, route following and obstacle avoiding modules are the…
Guiding robots, in the form of canes or cars, have recently been explored to assist blind and low vision (BLV) people. Such robots can provide full or partial autonomy when guiding. However, the pros and cons of different forms and autonomy…
Shared control in assistive robotics blends human autonomy with computer assistance, thus simplifying complex tasks for individuals with physical impairments. This study assesses an adaptive Degrees of Freedom control method specifically…
Robotic guide dogs hold significant potential to enhance the autonomy and mobility of blind or visually impaired (BVI) individuals by offering universal assistance over unstructured terrains at affordable costs. However, the design of…
Visually impaired individuals rely heavily on accurate and timely information about obstacles and their surrounding environments to achieve independent living. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the development of…
Safe navigation for the visually impaired individuals remains a critical challenge, especially concerning head-level obstacles, which traditional mobility aids often fail to detect. We introduce GuideTouch, a compact, affordable, standalone…
As social VR applications grow in popularity, blind and low vision users encounter continued accessibility barriers. Yet social VR, which enables multiple people to engage in the same virtual space, presents a unique opportunity to allow…
Mobile telepresence robots (MTRs) have become increasingly popular in the expanding world of remote work, providing new avenues for people to actively participate in activities at a distance. However, humans operating MTRs often have…
Blind people have limited opportunities to explore an environment based on their interests. While existing navigation systems could provide them with surrounding information while navigating, they have limited scalability as they require…
Autonomy and independent navigation are vital to daily life but remain challenging for individuals with blindness. Robotic systems can enhance mobility and confidence by providing intelligent navigation assistance. However, fully autonomous…
According to the World Health Organization, visual impairment is estimated to affect approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide. The visually impaired must currently rely on navigational aids to replace their sense of sight, like a white…
Globally, 340 million people have blindness or moderate to severe visual impairment (BVI)$^1$ which limits independent outdoor navigation$^2$ and negatively affects their health and quality of life$^{3,4}$. We surveyed 112 people with BVI…
Recent studies have focused on facilitating perception and outdoor navigation for people with blindness or some form of vision loss. However, a significant portion of these studies is centered around treatment and vision rehabilitation,…
Background: Outdoor navigation poses significant challenges for people with blindness or low vision, yet the role of gaze behavior in supporting mobility remains underexplored. Fully sighted individuals typically adopt consistent scanning…
While there is no replacement for the learned expertise, devotion, and social benefits of a guide dog, there are cases in which a robot navigation assistant could be helpful for individuals with blindness or low vision (BLV). This study…