Start Date
19-5-2023 3:15 PM
End Date
19-5-2023 3:30 PM
Document Type
Short Paper
Keywords
Assistive Technologies, Android application, Visually Impaired
Description
According to "The World Report on Vision" by World Health Organization (WHO) [1], there are more than 2.2 billion people who have near or distant vision Impairments, out of which 36 million people are classified as entirely blind. This report also emphasizes the importance of social and communal support in enabling individuals with vision impairments to integrate into society and reach their full potential. While performing daily activities and navigating the environment, people with visual impairments (PVIs) often require direct or synchronous assistance [2]. Consequently, there is a growing need for automated solutions to assist in this regard. However, existing automated solutions can provide limited assistance with limited reliability [3]. Although assistants and caregivers can help PVIs when they have the time and they are able to be physically present onsite, other assistants may have the time to help, but no means to be physically present onsite to help (such as a friend with disabilities or an elderly family member who may not be physically able to help onsite). In this context, remote help can be utilized to provide PVIs with the help they need from persons who want to help but can’t be physically there in person. In this paper, our team designed a wearable hat equipped with a camera system to facilitate remote audiovisual communication between a visually impaired user and a remote assistant. The hat features three 120-degree cameras positioned around its rim and houses electrical components discreetly within its structure. A mobile application installed on both the user's and the assistant's smartphones provides two-way audio communication. The user with visual impairments can request assistance from a pool of registered assistants who can control the camera feed on the user’s hat and provide live guidance.
This hat-based camera system enables real-time assistance for the visually impaired to perform daily activities such as job-related tasks, shopping tasks, meal preparation tasks, street navigation tasks, and other tasks. A hat-based design and remote assistance allow for a flexible and comprehensive solution to meet the needs of individuals with visual impairments and provides assistants the capability of remotely helping PVIs.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5038/IGOM4189
Included in
Biomedical Devices and Instrumentation Commons, Computer and Systems Architecture Commons, Robotics Commons, Vision Science Commons
Live Audiovisual Remote Assistance System (LARAS) for Person with Visual Impairments
According to "The World Report on Vision" by World Health Organization (WHO) [1], there are more than 2.2 billion people who have near or distant vision Impairments, out of which 36 million people are classified as entirely blind. This report also emphasizes the importance of social and communal support in enabling individuals with vision impairments to integrate into society and reach their full potential. While performing daily activities and navigating the environment, people with visual impairments (PVIs) often require direct or synchronous assistance [2]. Consequently, there is a growing need for automated solutions to assist in this regard. However, existing automated solutions can provide limited assistance with limited reliability [3]. Although assistants and caregivers can help PVIs when they have the time and they are able to be physically present onsite, other assistants may have the time to help, but no means to be physically present onsite to help (such as a friend with disabilities or an elderly family member who may not be physically able to help onsite). In this context, remote help can be utilized to provide PVIs with the help they need from persons who want to help but can’t be physically there in person. In this paper, our team designed a wearable hat equipped with a camera system to facilitate remote audiovisual communication between a visually impaired user and a remote assistant. The hat features three 120-degree cameras positioned around its rim and houses electrical components discreetly within its structure. A mobile application installed on both the user's and the assistant's smartphones provides two-way audio communication. The user with visual impairments can request assistance from a pool of registered assistants who can control the camera feed on the user’s hat and provide live guidance.
This hat-based camera system enables real-time assistance for the visually impaired to perform daily activities such as job-related tasks, shopping tasks, meal preparation tasks, street navigation tasks, and other tasks. A hat-based design and remote assistance allow for a flexible and comprehensive solution to meet the needs of individuals with visual impairments and provides assistants the capability of remotely helping PVIs.