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Safety of visually impaired individuals in public places
Published in Mohamad Al Ali, Peter Platko, Advances and Trends in Engineering Sciences and Technologies III, 2019
R. Zdařilová, P. Kocurová, A. Bílková
White cane is the basic compensation tool for spatial orientation and independent movement of blind people. The long cane technique (Wiener, 2006) refers to the purposeful and educated use of a white cane with a specifically determined ratio of its length to the height of the person. Using a white cane ensures safety and subjective certainty of the blind person while adhering to basic physiological and aesthetic principles of movement.
A new primary mobility tool for the visually impaired: A white cane—adaptive mobility device hybrid
Published in Assistive Technology, 2018
John-Ross Rizzo, Kyle Conti, Teena Thomas, Todd E. Hudson, Robert Wall Emerson, Dae Shik Kim
For nearly a century, the white cane has been the primary mobility tool used to promote independence and increase safety in mobility for people who are blind and visually impaired (Strong, 2009). The cane is typically held at body midline and swung back and forward slightly more than body width in phase with the gait cycle; the swings are synchronized to the rear leg during walking, allowing the cane user to increase his or her reaction time to hazards while clearing the immediate path of the foot (Hoover, 1962; LaGrow & Long, 2011). However, the white cane has limitations. The white cane has difficulty with edge and obstacle detection (Kim, Moncada-Torres, Furrer, Riesch, & Gassert, 2016; Kim & Wall Emerson, 2014; Kim, Wall Emerson, & Curtis, 2009, 2010), neuromusculoskeletal overuse injuries (Gitlin, Mount, Lucas, Weirich, & Gramberg, 1997; Mount et al., 2001), training requirements (Virgili & Rubin, 2010), and cognitive burden, particularly in older adults (Zijstra, Ballemans, & Kempen, 2013). While the simplicity of the long cane has made it the most generally useful mobility tool for people who are blind, a single point contacting the walking surface, no matter how it is moved about, is not able to warn a cane user of all potential trip and fall hazards.
Assistive device for orientation and mobility of the visually impaired based on millimeter wave radar technology—Clinical investigation results
Published in Cogent Engineering, 2018
Tero Kiuru, Mikko Metso, Mikko Utriainen, Kirsimarja Metsävainio, Hanna-Mari Jauhonen, Riitta Rajala, Reeta Savenius, Mirja Ström, Tiia-Nina Jylhä, Reijo Juntunen, Juha Sylberg
The white cane is by far the most widely used assistive device for visually impaired orientation and mobility today. It is efficient in finding ground level obstacles close to the user (<1 m), but does not help in detecting obstacles that are not standing on the ground (such as an open window), or obstacles farther away. Not being able to detect head level obstacles increases the risk of head level accidents. For example, a study including over 300 legally blind or blind participants (Manduchi & Kurniawan, 2011) reported more than 50 percent suffering a head level accident at least once a year or more often. Furthermore, they reported 23 percent of these incidents having medical consequences.
An integrated region proposal and spatial information guided convolution network based object recognition for visually impaired persons’ indoor assistive navigation
Published in The Imaging Science Journal, 2023
Komal Mahadeo Masal, Shripad Bhatlawande, Sachin Dattatraya Shingade
Individuals with visual impairments often rely on a white cane to navigate and overcome these limitations [9]. White canes are affordable and can identify objects as low as the knee. However, using a white cane needs continuous and intentional effort from the user to identify objects in the immediate vicinity [10]. Additionally, it cannot detect higher obstacles like ladders and scaffolds, which pose a collision risk and potential harm. As a result, a white cane alone cannot meet the needs of individuals who are blind [11, 12]. This paper proposes a solution to enhance visually impaired individuals’ confidence while travelling indoors [13].