An outdoor navigation aid system for the visually impaired

In order to provide contextual cues for the visually impaired to navigate safely in outdoor dynamic situations, an outdoor navigation aid system, AudioGuide, is developed based on a PDA in this paper. It leverages technological advances in computer vision, global positioning system (GPS), geographic information system (GIS), and auditory displays. The camera embedded in the PDA captures dynamic environmental information; landmark information along the route queried from a map database built on eSuperMap is provided with the help of the GPS. Furthermore, the route is selected based on the user's familiarity, safety, and distance and thus is optimized for the user. Sonification and auditory icons are utilized to provide intuitive navigational information and natural interactions with the user. Initial usability evaluation shows the feasibility and potential of the AudioGuide for the visually impaired people.