An Indoor Wayfinding System Based on Geo-coded QR Codes for Individuals with Cognitive Impairments

A novel wayfinding system is presented with an aim to increase workplace and life independence for cognitive-impaired patients such as people with traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease. It is based on geo-coded QR codes which embed the coordinate (x, y, floor) and social computing that helps shorten the learning curve for the people who use it. According to psychological model of spatial navigation and the requirements of rehabilitation professionals, PDAs prompting with spatial photos at the right time and place can assist cognitivelyimpaired persons with navigating indoors or on the road. To do so, geo-coded QR codes which can be imagined as a new traffic sign system, are posted to selected positions on routes. The navigational photos are served on demand to the user who uses the built-in PDA camera to shoot the QR code when it is in eyesight range. A tracking function is integrated to timestamp the visited positions and issue alerts in case of anomalies. The tracking system increases the sense of security and also lowers the entry threshold to accepting the assistive technology. A prototype which consists of wayfinding devices, a training blog, and a tracking system, is designed and tested on a university campus. Compared to the sensor network approach, QR codes are easier and faster to deploy and the cost is lower. The experimental results show the computerhuman interface is friendly and the capabilities of wayfinding are reliable.