A Semi-Autonomous Navigational System for the Visually Impaired

According to the National Center for Health Statistics approximately 1.3 million people in the United States are legally visually impaired. Two of the primary challenges that visually impaired people face every day are mobility and orientation. Less than 10% of visually impaired people use canes and approximately 5% use guide dogs. The project scope is to develop a working prototype using ultrasonic and infrared sensors along with radio frequency identification (RFID) and global positioning (GPS) technologies to help a visually impaired person navigate safely. The Smart-Robot will incorporate knowledge gained from a 2008 senior design project referred to as the ‘Smart Cane.’ The design of the Smart-Robot will encourage further exploration into navigational systems to help increase the safety and mobility of the visually impaired community. Index Terms – embedded systems, navigation, robotics, and senior design.