Design and Development of a Stand-Alone Goggle with Situational Awareness for Visually Challenged

Abstract

Visually challenged individuals encounter profound challenges in navigating their environments independently, facing difficulties in detecting obstacles in both familiar indoor settings and dynamic outdoor scenarios. They are often unable to detect obstacles situated above waist level, such as hanging signs, or identify specific small objects like mobile phones, keys, remote controls, or furniture like tables and chairs without physical touch. Relying solely on tactile feedback is not always safe or hygienic, and it fails to provide the user with a comprehensive understanding of the surrounding environment. In this paper, a standalone goggle with situational awareness for visually challenged is proposed, which processes data locally using edge computing to identify specific household objects, calculate their proximity, and provide discrete auditory feedback without the need for smart phone tethering or internet connectivity. The proposed system is affordable, costing only $40 and can detect around 80 objects with a maximum recognition time of 30ms, enhancing the safety, autonomy, and privacy of the visually challenged user.