Fifth International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC'01)
Drishti: An Integrated Navigation System for Visually Impaired and Disabled
Zurich, Switzerland
October 08-October 09
ISBN: 0-7695-1318-2
Drishti is a wireless pedestrian navigation system. It integrates several technologies including wearable computers, voice recognition and synthesis, wireless networks, Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global positioning system (GPS). Drishti augments contextual information to the visually impaired and computes optimized routes based on user preference, temporal constraints (e.g. traffic congestion), and dynamic obstacles (e.g. ongoing ground work, road blockade for special events). The system constantly guides the blind user to navigate based on static and dynamic data. Environmental conditions and landmark information queried from a spatial database along their route are provided on the fly through detailed explanatory voice cues. The system also provides capability for the user to add intelligence, as perceived by the blind user, to the central server hosting the spatial database. Our system is supplementary to other navigational aids such as canes, blind guide dogs and wheel chairs.
Index Terms:
Wearable Computer, Voice Recognition, Global Positioning System (GPS), Geographic Information System (GIS) Blind, Navigation
Citation:
Abdelsalam (Sumi) Helal, Steven Edwin Moore, Balaji Ramachandran, "Drishti: An Integrated Navigation System for Visually Impaired and Disabled," iswc, pp.149, Fifth International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC'01), 2001