ABSTRACT
Technologies and techniques of location and navigation are advancing, allowing greater precision in locating people in complex and challenging conditions. These advances have attracted growing interest from the scientific community in using indoor positioning systems (IPSs) with a higher degree of precision and fast delivery time, for groups of people such as the visually impaired, to some extent improving their quality of life. Much research brings together various works that deal with the physical and logical approaches of IPSs to give the reader a more general view of the models. These surveys, however, need to be continuously revisited to update the literature on the features described. This paper presents an expansion of the range of technologies and methodologies for assisting the visually impaired in previous works, providing readers and researchers with a more recent version of what was done and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach to guide reviews and discussions about these topics. Finally, we discuss a series of considerations and future trends for the construction of indoor navigation and location systems for the visually impaired.
Subject(s)
Quality of Life , Self-Help Devices , Vision Disorders , HumansABSTRACT
Indoor navigation systems offer many application possibilities for people who need information about the scenery and the possible fixed and mobile obstacles placed along the paths. In these systems, the main factors considered for their construction and evaluation are the level of accuracy and the delivery time of the information. However, it is necessary to notice obstacles placed above the user's waistline to avoid accidents and collisions. In this paper, different methodologies are associated to define a hybrid navigation model called iterative pedestrian dead reckoning (i-PDR). i-PDR combines the PDR algorithm with a Kalman linear filter to correct the location, reducing the system's margin of error iteratively. Obstacle perception was addressed through the use of stereo vision combined with a musical sounding scheme and spoken instructions that covered an angle of 120 degrees in front of the user. The results obtained in the margin of error and the maximum processing time are 0.70 m and 0.09 s, respectively, with obstacles at ground level and suspended with an accuracy equivalent to 90%.
ABSTRACT
1. Equal rights and opportunities for people affected with leprosy to develop their full potentials is a matter of human rights. 2. Leprosy and its consequences are a complex human problem leading to discriminations, stigma and prejudices. 3. There is lack of complete understanding about global needs for rehabilitation. 4. Concentration on medical care of people affected with leprosy (MDT, surgery, etc.), though vastly beneficial, has led to highly inadequate psycho-socio-economic rehabilitation in a holistic manner resulting in poor quality of life. 5. People affected with leprosy have not been full partners and decision makers for their own development and lack self-confidence and opportunities for self-expression. 6. Community and health providers lack the right attitude and sensitivity, thus failing to assist in the empowerment of people affected with leprosy in an integrated manner. 8. There is insufficient coordination at international/NGOs/government levels to utilize scarce resources to allow full development of people affected with leprosy.
