title: Development of the obstacle detection system combining orientation sensor of smartphone and distance sensor.
abstract: In the existing walking support system, the range of detection is limited, and it is very difficult to detect obstacles such as a step or a hollow. Therefore, we aim at the development of a new walking support system for a visually-impaired person detecting neighboring obstacles by making use of a smartphone which is a high-performance portable information terminal. In this study, we have developed a walking support system combining the orientation sensor of the smartphone and a small distance sensor at the first stage. When we investigated its precision in detecting an obstacle, it was found that the system could detect obstacles which disturbed the walking of a visually-impaired person such as a step and a wall. We will find an appropriate key to detection to improve the detection precision of the system and make further improvements in the system by trial experiments in the future.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tange
authors.forename: Shunsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takeno
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hori
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D012656:Self-Help Devices; D000068997:Smartphone; D013686:Telemetry; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*