Navigation network for the blind concept (via Fujitsu)
As technology becomes more readily accessible and integrated into the home, harnessing the connectivity can aid people with disabilities live an easier life. Blindness can be a crippling handicap, especially to those who were not born blind. Navigation through one's home should not be an accident waiting to happen. Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology along with the company Fujitsu are developing a system based on Ultra Wideband Network (UWN) that will allow the blind to navigate around their homes using sound.
The indoor support system ties a UWB network and a smartphone with a Fujitsu developed app to direct the user with audible directions. The impulse radio UWB transceivers, called base stations, are able to measure distances and create a digital map of the indoor environment. A smartphone for the user and other bases located at critical destinations make up the mobile stations. A PC control station analyzes all of the positioning data in real time and transmits directions to the user’s smartphone using 12 o’clock directional signals and specifying distances. The system is accurate to within 30 centimeters. One catch, the system requires Android 2.3 or newer.
Future work includes adding sensors and developing software that can detect obstacles. This particular prototype network is intended as an aid for the blind, but other application for indoor navigation are in the works. This UWB system could be used for guidance through museums, government buildings, hospitals etc. The system was demonstrated at Wireless Technology Park 2012, July 5-6 at Pacifico Yokohama.
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