Project Title: Indoor Wayfinding for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Partnering Institutions and Investigators: Envision Research Institute, Wichita, KS
Funding Agency: Regional Institute on Aging, Wichita State University
Total Funded Amount: $2,000
Project Duration: April 1, 2016-May 15, 2017
Abstract: Indoor wayfinding remains a challenge for persons with low vision. Innovations such as global positioning systems (GPS) and mapping technologies are very accurate and simple to use in the outdoor environment. However, these same techniques are very inaccurate within indoor environments. A person with low vision thus has very limited and challenging options for navigating indoor environments which can be geographically large and equally intimidating as outdoor environments. This project will design, build, and evaluate a prototype of an indoor wayfinding system that persons with low vision can use with a mobile or wearable device. The proposed system will rely on low-cost, densely deployed beacons deployed for the general population to signal indoor location coordinates and real-time updates from an associated server for wayfinding.