Navigation System for Blind and Deaf Individuals P

Navigation System for Blind and Deaf Individuals P 13015 Faculty Guide: Dr. De. Bartolo Kevin Alderfer Michael Bova (Computer Engineer) KGCOE 2 nd Floor (red dots are active nodes) Project Introduction It can be extremely difficult for individuals who are blind (and deaf) to reach their destinations in a new building or unfamiliar environment without assisted direction. This project attempts to ease that difficulty by creating a device for use by visually impaired individuals in such circumstances. This system uses Bluetooth technology to map out a building’s floor plan, and an arm device to navigate the user to their destination. Customer Requirements • • • Navigate a blind/deaf individual to any desired destination Calculate the shortest distance between any two locations Intuitive interface without the use of visual or audio feedback > 10 navigated trips on a full battery Budget: $200. 00 Software Design Navigation Process (Path Finding and Following): 1. Shortest path found using custom Dijkstra’s algorithm 2. The user’s location and heading are determined via signal strength of near-by nodes and a tilt compensated magnetometer reading. 3. The shortest path is then cross-referenced against the user’s location on the map. 4. As the user moves along the path, feedback is provided via the motors whenever a change in orientation is required or the user arrives at their destination. Hardware Design Considerations: • Active Nodes: An active node network was selected over passive nodes in order to distribute the power demand equally across the grid. This will lighten the power burden of the arm device dramatically. • Transceiver: ez 430 -RF 2500 transceivers were chosen to create the node network and receiver for the arm device to communicate with this network. These transceivers operate at 2. 4 GHz (Bluetooth frequency), which provides a more reliable signal at greater distances than the antiquated RFID technology. • A Spy-Bi-Wire interface was created for use between the MCU and receiver on the arm device. Path Finding Path Following Component Interfaces: • • • Magnetometer: I 2 C Keypad: Custom GPIOs Motors: PWM controlled output Access Point (receiver for arm device): Spy-Bi-Wire Network Protocol: Simplici. TI (transceiver pairing network) This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. BES 0527358. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.