Drishti to put the blind on track

NYT News Service

An interactive personal navigation system developed at the University of Florida could someday guide blind people through corridors and along busy city sidewalks. The system is named Drishti.

The system combines off-the-shelf hardware, software and a voice-controlled interface of the students' own design. It communicates wirelessly with widely available but little-known databases of detailed geographic information that can quickly be updated to reflect changing conditions.

The project began as a master's thesis project for Steve Moore when he was a computer science student at the university's Gainesville campus.

When the user gives voice commands to ask for directions, the system responds with verbal instructions, giving distances in feet and providing corrective guidance along the way.

Moore began the project in 1999 and has since enlisted two other students, Balaji Ramachandran and Lisa Ran, to add expertise in geographical information systems and indoor navigation. "Right now we have it down to feet, but we're working on calibrating it with your stride length," Moore said.

The system can reroute users around trouble spots that may develop on short notice, like construction sites or big crowds, and can describe points along routes.

Moore's father, Theral, an associate professor of mathematics on the same campus, helped test the system. Professor Moore, who is totally blind, said he does not ordinarily walk around on the busy campus without an escort. But when testing the system, he said, he felt much better about trying. "I could actually head out to go to another building and feel comfortable," he said.

Features like its voice controlled interface and dynamic capabilities distinguish it from navigation systems available for the blind today.

The heart of the system is a wearable computer about the size of a thick paperback book, which is worn on the user's waist, runs Windows 98 and is voice-controlled with an interface that uses IBM's ViaVoice software.

The computer is connected to a Global Positioning System receiver carried on the user's back, which keeps track of the latitude and longitude

t also gets data from the university's geographical information system, or GIS, a dynamic layout of the Gainesville campus that can be updated by campus officials as they learn about trouble spots like construction sites.

As the user navigates the route given by the computer, the system compares data from the GPS receiver with data from the GIS to refine the route and warn if the user is straying off course or even away from the center of the sidewalk.

Professor Moore said the system designed by his son could greatly benefit the visually impaired, although he would prefer that the equipment were less bulky.

Source: The Times of India
Dated:19th October, 2002