title: Electronic bracelet and vision-enabled waist-belt for mobility of visually impaired people.
abstract: A wearable assistive system is proposed to improve mobility of visually impaired people (subjects). This system has been implemented in the shape of a bracelet and waist-belt in order to increase its wearable convenience and cosmetic acceptability. A camera and an ultrasonic sensor are attached to a customized waist-belt and bracelet, respectively. The proposed modular system will act as a complementary aid along with a white cane. Its vision-enabled waist-belt module detects the path and distribution of obstacles on the path. This module conveys the required information to a subject via a mono earphone by activating relevant spoken messages. The electronic bracelet module assists the subject to verify this information and to perceive distance of obstacles along with their locations. The proposed complementary system provides an improved understanding of the surrounding environment with less cognitive and perceptual efforts as compared to a white cane alone. This system was subjected to clinical evaluations with 15 totally blind subjects. Results of usability experiments demonstrated effectiveness of the system as a mobility aid. Amongst the participated subjects, 93.33% expressed satisfaction with the information content of this system, 86.66% subjects comprehended its operational convenience, and 80% appreciated the comfort of the system.
authors.forename: Shripad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhatlawande
authors.forename: Amar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sunkari
authors.forename: Manjunatha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mahadevappa
authors.forename: Jayanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mukhopadhyay
authors.forename: Mukul
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.forename: Debabrata
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Somedeb
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen; D002183:Canes; D004581:Electronics; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012656:Self-Help Devices; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities; D016138:Walking; D014953:Wrist