Blind navigation system for visually impaired using windowing-based mean on Microsoft Kinect camera

Abstract

Obstacle avoidance and navigation are major problems for blind people. They require help to pass safely. This paper presents an obstacle avoidance system for blind people using Kinect depth camera. This assistive technology recognizes the medium in front of the user using Kinect depth camera. The system receives the depth images from the Kinect camera and processes it using a windowing-based mean or average method to recognize obstacles in the scanned environment. When the system recognizes an obstacle, it sends a voice feedback to the user through earphones. The testing is done with blindfolded persons. It shows that this device could successfully guide them to bypass obstacles safely.