Generating Navigational Audio Instructions Using Fuzzy Logic

The paper presents the application of fuzzy logic principles to generation of audio instructions. The described subsystem forms a part of an information unit for the visually impaired, which is developed at the Institute of Production Machines, Systems and Robotics at Brno University of Technology. The unit will provide visually impaired users with the localization, navigation and obstacle avoidance functionality as well as enable them to independently traverse through previously unvisited (primarily urban) areas. The majority of sightless persons are able to traverse such areas only with human accompaniment that compensates their missing knowledge of the surrounding environment. The utilization of fuzzy techniques brings the human-like behaviour of the navigational interface and a scalable mechanism for generating navigational instructions.