INTELLIGENT ASSISTIVE DEVICE FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE - A COMPUTER VISION BASED APPROACH

Abstract

The “Intelligent Assistive Device” system leverages advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Computer Vision, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to enhance the lives of individuals with visual impairments. This research addresses existing limitations and aims to develop a highly usable, efficient, and cost- effective device tailored to the specific needs of visually impaired individuals. Key features of the proposed system include facilitating independent navigation through obstacle detection, recognition, and distance measuring. Supplementary functions encompass face and currency recognition, wet floor and fall alerts, live location track- ing, text reading assistance, guardian monitoring, and emergency dialing. The functionalities are intended to be incorporated iteratively, empowering blind individuals to perform daily tasks with minimal assistance. The device’s primary features are achieved by integrating IoT and computer vision technologies, utilizing Raspberry Pi, and employing AI-based methodologies. An in-depth analysis of existing assistive technologies informed the identification of their shortcomings and incorporation of their advantages into the design of the proposed system. To ensure user comfort, considerations such as wearability, mobility, and lightweight design have been taken into account. Furthermore, a cost analysis was conducted to develop an affordable yet feature-rich assistive device. The overarching goal of this system is to enhance the quality, productivity, and independence of visually impaired individuals, thereby mitigating the financial and productivity losses associated with visual impairments.