KR101043910B1 - road guidance system for the blind and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a road guidance system and method for the visually impaired according to the present invention. The road guidance system according to the present invention comprises: a GPS module for receiving a GPS signal from a satellite; A communication module configured to receive a wireless signal from a near field communication device through short range wireless communication; And activating any one of a first road guide mode and a second road guide mode according to whether the GPS signal and the radio signal are received, and the location of the user based on the GPS signal or the radio signal according to the activation result. It includes a control unit for tracking the to determine the movement path. Through this, the present invention can efficiently guide the road, improve the reliability of the road guide, it is possible to improve the convenience of the user.

Blind People, Directions, GPS, Near Field Communication, Orientation Sensors, Acceleration Sensors, Travel Paths

Description

Road guidance system for the blind and method

The present invention relates to a road guidance system and method for the blind.

Visually impaired people, like non-disabled people, need to be safe access to places or facilities where they can do activities, such as education, religion, leisure, shopping, and so on. Accordingly, braille blocks are installed inside public offices, subways, and certain buildings so that the visually impaired can drive more safely.

However, it is difficult for the visually impaired to move safely and freely in the pedestrian environment of the city, which is as simple as providing braille blocks on the sidewalk blocks or providing a guide signal when crossing the crosswalk. You may be at risk of accidents that may occur.

In addition, the visually impaired can be guided using a guide dog, and since all visually impaired people cannot receive these benefits, most visually impaired people walk on the cane. As a result, the visually impaired are unable to cope with the risks from the surroundings, and small accidents occur.

In recent years, various devices have been developed to continuously provide more detailed and accurate information about surrounding conditions such as travel paths and risk factors so that visually impaired people can safely travel to their destinations. .

The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, by automatically switching to the road guidance mode using a GPS module or a short-range wireless communication module according to the indoor / outdoor, the visually impaired to enable the efficient road guidance To provide a route guidance system and method for the same.

The present invention is a road guidance system for the visually impaired to improve the reliability of the road guidance by using the acceleration and the direction sensor in place of the GPS module according to the number of satellites set in the road guidance mode using the GPS module outdoors And to provide a method.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a road guidance system and method for the visually impaired to improve the convenience of the user because the road guidance to the output of the voice or braille according to the user's selection.

To this end, the road guidance system for the blind according to an aspect of the present invention includes a GPS module for receiving a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal from the satellite; A communication module configured to receive a wireless signal from a near field communication device through short range wireless communication; And activating any one of a first road guide mode and a second road guide mode according to whether the GPS signal and the radio signal are received, and the location of the user based on the GPS signal or the radio signal according to the activation result. It may include a control unit to track the to determine the movement path.

When the control unit receives the GPS signal, the controller activates the first road guidance mode, searches for a moving route of the user based on destination information input from the user according to the first road guidance mode, and retrieves the GPS signal. Based on the tracking of the location of the user can determine the moving path of the user based on this. On the other hand, if the control unit does not receive the GPS signal and receives the wireless signal, the controller activates the second road guide mode and moves the user's moving path based on destination information input from the user according to the second road guide mode. Search for and track the location of the user based on the wireless signal to determine the moving path of the user based on the location of the user.

Preferably, the road guidance system for the visually impaired in accordance with the present invention includes a direction sensor for detecting the movement direction of the user; And an acceleration sensor for detecting a moving speed of the user. If the number of satellites included in the GPS signal is less than a threshold value, the controller may track the location of the user based on the moving direction and the moving speed to determine the moving path of the user.

Preferably, the road guidance system for the visually impaired according to the present invention comprises a voice output unit for outputting the voice of the user's moving path determined based on the user's location; And a braille output unit configured to output, in braille, the movement path of the user determined based on the location of the user.

Preferably, the road guidance system for the blind according to the present invention includes a first database for storing map information for applying to the first road guidance mode; And a second database storing building information for applying to the second road guidance mode.

In this case, the short-range wireless communication is any one of infrared communication (IrDA), Bluetooth (Bluetooth), Zigbee (zigbee), UWB (Ultra Wide Band), WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) You can do

In addition, the road guidance method for the visually impaired according to an aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of checking whether a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal received from the satellite; Confirming whether a wireless signal has been received from a nearby communication device through short-range wireless communication; And activating any one of a first road guide mode and a second road guide mode according to whether the GPS signal and the radio signal are received, and the location of the user based on the GPS signal or the radio signal according to the activation result. The method may include tracking and determining the moving path.

The determining of the movement route may include: activating the first route guidance mode upon receiving the GPS signal, searching for the movement route of the user based on destination information input from the user according to the first route guidance mode, The location of the user may be tracked based on the GPS signal to determine a moving path of the user. On the other hand, the determining of the moving path may include: activating the second road guidance mode when receiving the wireless signal without receiving the GPS signal and based on destination information input from the user according to the second road guidance mode. Search for the user's moving path, and determine the user's moving path based on the location of the user based on the wireless signal.

The determining of the moving path may include detecting the moving direction and the moving speed of the user if the number of satellites included in the GPS signal is less than a threshold value, and detecting the moving path based on the moving direction and the moving speed. By tracking the location of the user can determine the moving path of the user based on this.

Preferably, the road guidance method for the visually impaired according to the present invention may further include the step of outputting the movement path of the user in voice or braille based on the location of the user.

Preferably, the road guidance method for the visually impaired according to the present invention may further include receiving the destination information from the user through voice or braille for guidance.

In this case, the short-range wireless communication is any one of infrared communication (IrDA), Bluetooth (Bluetooth), Zigbee (zigbee), UWB (Ultra Wide Band), WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) You can do

Hereinafter, a road guidance system and method for a blind person according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

The present invention proposes a road guidance system and method for the visually impaired. That is, the present invention automatically switches to a road guidance mode using a GPS (Global Positioning System) module or a short range wireless communication module according to indoor / outdoor, and according to the number of satellites set in the road guidance mode using a GPS module outdoors. In place of the GPS module, acceleration and direction sensors are used. Directions can be guided by voice or braille output, depending on the user's choice.

1 is an exemplary view showing the configuration of a schematic road guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the road guidance system for the visually impaired according to the present invention includes a GPS module 110, a short range wireless communication module (hereinafter, referred to as a “communication module”) 120, a voice input unit 130, The braille input unit 140, the controller 150, the sensor unit 160, a database (DB) 170, the voice output unit 180, and the braille output unit 190 may be configured.

The sensor unit 160 may include at least one sensor, for example, a direction sensor or an acceleration sensor, wherein the direction sensor may detect a moving direction of the user, and the acceleration sensor may detect a moving speed of the user. have. The sensed movement direction and movement speed may be used to track the location of the user when it is determined that the accuracy of the GPS signal is inferior.

The present invention may activate the first directions mode using the GPS module or the second directions mode using the communication module according to the location of the user, for example, indoors or outdoors. Receiving a GPS signal and the communication module 120 may receive a wireless signal through a near field communication from the peripheral communication device. Here, the short-range wireless communication may mean any one of infrared communication (IrDA), Bluetooth (Bluetooth), Zigbee (zigbee), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). have.

When the controller 150 receives the GPS signal through the GPS module, the controller 150 tracks the location of the user based on the received GPS signal to determine the moving path of the user based on the received GPS signal. When only the signal is received, the user's location can be determined based on the received wireless signal to determine the moving path of the user. In particular, even if the GPS signal is received, if the number of satellites included in the received GPS signal is less than or equal to the threshold value, the controller 150 tracks the user's location based on the moving direction and the moving speed and determines the moving path of the user based on the received GPS signal. can do.

At this time, the database 170 includes information for road guidance, for example, building information for indoor road guidance such as the location of an office inside the building, and map information for outdoor road guidance such as risk factors and location of the building. can do. The database 170 may be physically configured as a single device, but may be separately configured according to the type of information.

The voice input unit 130 may receive voice input of destination information from the user, and the braille input unit 140 may receive the target information in braille. Similarly, the voice output unit 180 provides road guidance information to a destination through voice, and the braille output unit 190 denotes a braille display, which may also be provided through braille.

As described above, the present invention automatically switches to the road guidance mode using the GPS module or the short-range wireless communication module according to whether the user is located outdoors or in the inside, thereby efficiently guiding the road as well as voice or braille according to the user's selection. Because the guidance information is provided as an output, the user's convenience can be improved.

2 is a first exemplary view illustrating a road guidance method for the visually impaired according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, when the road guidance system is driven, destination information may be input from a user through voice or braille (S210). In addition, the road guidance system may check whether or not the GPS signal is received (S220), which may guide the user to wait for a predetermined time because the GPS signal is not well caught at the beginning of driving.

First, when the road guidance system receives the GPS signal, the first road guidance mode is activated (S231), and the optimal movement route to the input destination based on the GPS signal and the map information according to the activated first road guidance mode. It may be retrieved (S233). That is, the road guidance system may search for a moving path from the current location to the destination using the shortest distance algorithm based on the map information.

In this case, the route guidance system may search for a movement route by simply considering a distance to the destination, but may also search for an optimal movement route to the destination in consideration of risk factors, for example, searching for a movement route to the destination. In this case, if the distance of the path to be moved is close, but there are many risk factors, the weight can be set higher to search for another path.

Thereafter, the road guidance system continuously tracks the location of the user based on the received GPS signal (S235), thereby determining the moving path of the user based on this, and selectively informing the user through voice or braille ( S237). That is, since the location of hazards, buildings, and the like is stored in coordinates in the database, the road guidance system may guide the direction, danger, or building from the tracked user's location to the destination through voice or braille.

On the other hand, when the user enters the building and does not receive the GPS signal, the road guide system may check whether the wireless signal is received from the peripheral communication device installed in the building through the communication module (S241).

Accordingly, when the road guidance system does not receive the GPS signal and receives the radio signal, the road guidance system activates the second road guidance mode (S243), and inputs the destination based on the radio signal and the building information according to the activated second road guidance mode. The optimal movement route up to may be searched (S245). That is, the road guidance system may search for a moving path from the current location to the destination using the shortest distance algorithm based on the building information.

In this case, the communication module installed in the road guidance system serves to receive a radio signal, and the communication device or communication module installed in the building transmits a radio signal. The transmitted radio signal includes an ID (identifier) and a communication module. It may include information such as signal strength.

Subsequently, the road guidance system continuously tracks the location of the user based on the received wireless signal (S247), thereby determining the moving path of the user based on this, and outputting it in voice or braille to selectively guide the user. (S249). That is, since each communication module installed in the building has an ID and detailed information thereof is stored in a database, the road guidance system uses voice or braille to guide the direction or danger from the tracked user's location to the destination. can do.

While traveling through these directions, the route guidance system can alert you when you receive a radio signal that includes the communication module's ID of the hazard, which can be guided by meeting a radio signal. When the communication module is determined to be mobile, and the server has a risk in the moving path, there may be a way to guide the risk in advance.

According to this operation principle, when the road guidance system of the present invention moves from the outdoor to the indoor state, the GPS signal is not received in the state of receiving the GPS signal, and immediately enters the building to receive the first signal by receiving the wireless signal. The mode may be switched to the second road guidance mode. On the contrary, if the road guidance system of the present invention moves from indoors to outdoors, the road guidance system may be disconnected after receiving a radio signal and may switch from the second road guidance mode to the first road guidance mode again by receiving a GPS signal. In fact, whether the current location is indoors or outdoors can be switched after each of the two signals has been received.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the interior of the building only, including a place that does not receive a GPS signal, etc., the road may be provided through a separate server provided in the building to provide building information, the operation principle thereof When described in detail as follows.

When a user enters a building, the road guidance system may access a server provided by the building, which may be possible because a server containing information in the building broadcasts its own Internet Protocol (IP) address. That is, the road guidance system may be provided with an IP address that is broadcast immediately when the GPS signal is not detected when entering the building and a wireless signal is detected. Therefore, if the IP address is provided, it can be connected to the server provided in the building by connecting to the corresponding address.

In this case, each communication module installed in the building has an ID, and information about the communication module corresponding to the ID may be stored in a database of a server provided by the building, for example, classified as a location and a risk factor of a room in the building. have.

The road guidance system transmits the received radio signal to the server, and the server may search for information corresponding to the ID of the received radio signal, that is, the communication module, and transmit the same to the road guidance system. For example, when receiving a radio signal including the ID 1 of the communication module installed at the entrance of the building, the road guidance system may transmit it to the server. Accordingly, the server may retrieve the information of the building entrance corresponding to the ID (1) from the database and send it back to the road guidance system. Therefore, the road guidance system estimates the user's location as the entrance to the building, and outputs it to the user by outputting it in voice or braille.

Then, when the road guidance system receives the destination information from the user, by transmitting the destination information to the server, the server may search for the movement route using the shortest distance algorithm and provide a direction to move to the next communication module on the found movement route. . The route guidance system outputs this in voice or braille, and as the user moves, it receives the ID of the corresponding communication module as it moves to the next communication module, and sends the ID back to the server to provide the direction from the server to the next communication module. Can be.

At this time, since the server knows the previous position, the current position, and the next position to move to the road guidance system, it can know the direction to the next communication module based on this.

On the other hand, the GPS signal includes information on the number of satellites currently being used, the number of such satellites should be large to reduce the error range in tracking the location. Usually, the number of satellites is in the state that can identify or track the user's current position from three or more, but in order to increase the accuracy, the number of more than three satellites is set as a threshold value. It will be described with reference to.

3 is a second exemplary view showing a road guidance method for the visually impaired according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the road guidance system may check whether the GPS signal is received (S310) and extract information about the number of satellites included in the received GPS signal (S320). The road guidance system may check whether the number of extracted satellites is less than a threshold (S330). That is, the road guide system determines that the position of the user tracking based on the GPS signal is incorrect if the number of satellites included in the GPS signal is less than the threshold, and replaces the moving direction through the direction sensor and the acceleration sensor. And a moving speed.

The road guidance system detects the moving direction through the direction sensor and may detect the moving speed through the acceleration sensor (S340).

Thereafter, the road guidance system tracks the location of the user based on the detected moving direction and the moving speed (S350), and outputs the moving path of the user in voice or braille based on the detected direction (S360). In such a prediction technique, an error may accumulate in tracking a user's location, but the error may be eliminated when receiving a GPS signal above a threshold.

On the contrary, if the number of satellites included in the GPS signal is greater than or equal to the threshold, the road guidance system may track the location of the user based on the GPS signal (S351).

As described above, when the number of satellites included in the GPS signal received in the first road guide mode using the GPS module is less than the threshold, the present invention uses an acceleration and direction sensor in place of the GPS module, thereby providing a road guide. It can improve the reliability.

The functions used in the system disclosed herein can be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and the like, and may also be implemented in the form of carrier waves (eg, transmission over the Internet). Include. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

The road guidance system and method for the visually impaired according to the present invention can be modified and applied in various forms within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention and are not limited to the above embodiments. In addition, the embodiments and drawings are merely for the purpose of describing the contents of the invention in detail, not intended to limit the scope of the technical idea of the invention, the present invention described above is common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs As those skilled in the art can have various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention, it is not limited to the above embodiments and the accompanying drawings, of course, and not only the claims to be described below but also claims Judgment should be made including scope and equivalence.

1 is an exemplary view showing the configuration of a schematic road guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a first exemplary view illustrating a road guidance method for the visually impaired according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a second exemplary view showing a road guidance method for the visually impaired according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

110: GPS module

120: communication module

130: voice input unit

140: braille input unit

150: control unit

160: sensor unit

170: database

180: audio output unit

190: braille output unit

Claims (15)

A GPS module for receiving a Global Positioning System (GPS) signal from a satellite; A communication module configured to receive a wireless signal from a near field communication device through short range wireless communication; Activate one of the first road guidance mode and the second road guidance mode according to whether the GPS signal and the radio signal are received, and according to the activation result, position the user based on the GPS signal or the radio signal. A control unit for tracking and determining the movement path; A voice output unit configured to output a voice of the movement path of the user determined based on the location of the user as a voice; And It includes a braille output unit for outputting the braille path of the user based on the location of the user in braille, The control unit, When the number of satellites included in the GPS signal is less than a threshold value, the location of the user is tracked based on the moving direction of the user detected by the direction sensor and the moving speed of the user detected by the acceleration sensor. Route guidance system for the visually impaired to determine the moving path of the user based on this. The method according to claim 1, The control unit, When the GPS signal is received, the first road guidance mode is activated. Search for a moving route of the user based on destination information input from the user according to the first way guidance mode; The road guidance system for the visually impaired, wherein the location of the user is tracked based on the GPS signal to determine the moving path of the user. The method according to claim 1, The control unit, When the GPS signal is not received and the wireless signal is received, the second road guidance mode is activated. Search for a moving route of the user based on destination information input from the user according to the second road guidance mode; The road guidance system for the visually impaired, wherein the location of the user is tracked based on the radio signal to determine the moving path of the user. delete delete delete The method according to claim 1, A first database for storing map information for applying to the first road guidance mode; And A second database for storing building information for applying to the second road guidance mode; Route guidance system for the visually impaired further comprising. The method according to claim 1, The short range wireless communication, Path for the visually impaired, characterized in that it is any one of infrared communication (IrDA), Bluetooth (Bluetooth), Zigbee (UgB), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Guidance system. Checking whether a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal has been received from the satellite; Confirming whether a wireless signal has been received from a nearby communication device through short-range wireless communication; Activate one of the first road guidance mode and the second road guidance mode according to whether the GPS signal and the radio signal are received, and according to the activation result, position the user based on the GPS signal or the radio signal. Determining the movement path by tracking; And Outputting the moving path of the user determined based on the location of the user in voice or braille, Determining the movement path, If the number of satellites included in the received GPS signal is less than the threshold value, and detects the direction and speed of the movement of the user, The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the user is tracked based on the moving direction and the moving speed to determine the moving path of the user. The method of claim 9, Determining the movement path, When the GPS signal is received, the first road guidance mode is activated. Search for a moving route of the user based on destination information input from the user according to the first way guidance mode; The method for guiding the blind for the visually impaired, wherein the location of the user is tracked based on the GPS signal to determine the moving path of the user. The method of claim 9, Determining the movement path, When the GPS signal is not received and the wireless signal is received, the second road guidance mode is activated. Search for a moving route of the user based on destination information input from the user according to the second road guidance mode; And tracking the location of the user based on the wireless signal to determine the moving path of the user based on the location of the user. delete delete The method of claim 9, Receiving destination information through voice or braille from a user for guiding directions Way guidance for the visually impaired further comprising a. The method of claim 9, The short range wireless communication, Path for the visually impaired, characterized in that it is any one of infrared communication (IrDA), Bluetooth (Bluetooth), Zigbee (UgB), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Guide way.

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