KR102034283B1 - A tactile navigation system for blind people - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a road guide system for blind people and more specifically, a road guide system for blind people which comprises: a mobile communication terminal having a dedicated application installed therein to guide a road for blind people; and a stick connected to the mobile communication terminal through a wireless communication and helping walking of blind people. According to the present invention, a compass sensor is provided in a stick and a direction indicating pin is provided at a handle part at the outside of the stick. Accordingly, when a user enters a destination with voice by executing a road guide application installed in the mobile communication terminal, the road guide system for blind people calculates a route according to destinations by grasping the location of a user through a GPS sensor of the mobile communication terminal, calculates a front direction of the user grasped by receiving the direction in which the stick faces from the compass sensor of the stick and a progress direction of a route according to destinations through the current location and destination location of the user measured through the GPS sensor, and intuitively induces a progress direction through a body part of the user in contact with the direction indicating pin as a command is transmitted to rotate the direction indicating pin included in the handle part of the stick according to the direction of progress. Therefore, the road guide system for blind people is able to accurately deliver, through tactile sensation, even a narrow angle difficult to be measured only by a voice guide, thereby being able to effectively increase the accuracy of the progress direction of a user when guiding a route.

Description

A tactile navigation system for blind people}

The present invention relates to a road guide system for the visually impaired, and more particularly, a mobile communication terminal having a dedicated application for guiding a road to the visually impaired, and connected to the mobile communication terminal by wireless communication to help the visually impaired walk. It is configured to include a cane, the compass sensor is provided inside the cane, the handle portion of the outside of the cane is provided with a direction indicator pin, when the user enters the destination by voice by running the road guidance application installed on the mobile communication terminal, The GPS sensor of the communication terminal detects the user's location and calculates a route according to the destination, and receives the direction of the cane's direction from the compass sensor of the cane, and the user's front direction and the current measured by the GPS sensor. Route to your destination through location and destination location By calculating the direction of movement, the direction indicator pin provided on the handle portion of the cane in accordance with the direction to send a command to rotate the user's body in contact with the direction indicator pin by intuitively inducing the direction of the movement, The present invention relates to a path guide system for the visually impaired, which can accurately deliver narrow angles that are difficult to measure by touch, so that the accuracy of the user's direction can be effectively increased during route guidance.

Visually impaired people cannot recognize the surrounding information through vision, so they can obtain information on the ground of the moving route using aids such as canes or guide blocks or stairs installed in public places such as floors, sidewalks and crosswalks. In addition, it is possible to walk around by acquiring surrounding information using a braille board attached to a wall of an entrance and the like. However, it is difficult to identify the exact path of movement using only a cane, and even if an induction block is installed or a braille board is attached, it is impossible to detect projections when foreign matter is stuck on the induction block. It is not easy to find a braille board, so its utility is low.

In order to solve this problem, Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0807180 discloses a system and method for providing a road guide service to the visually impaired through wireless communication between a stereo headset and a user terminal.

When the user inputs the destination through the terminal, the GPS sensor provided in the user terminal tracks the current location of the user to calculate a moving path to the destination, and reflects the current direction of the user's gaze detected through the stereo headset. Then, the user performs the road guidance by providing information on the direction to proceed in order to move from the current position to the destination in voice and stereo sound.

However, since the prior art transmits the movement route information about the destination through voice of the user, the user may not hear the guide voice according to the surrounding environment, and when the user concentrates on the guidance through the headset, Not paying attention to obstacles, etc. may lead to problems at risk of walking.

In addition, even if the user listens to the voice prompts indicating the direction, the visually impaired person may not know exactly how much direction to change the direction, so the accuracy of the movement direction is reduced, and the remaining distance until the direction change and the point of time to change the direction, etc. Information about the user's movements is also not accurately provided, which may confuse the user's walking.

1. Korean Registered Patent No. 10-0807180 (Registration Date: February 19, 2008) "Road Guidance Service System and Method for the Visually Impaired"

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, in the present invention is connected to the mobile communication terminal and the mobile communication terminal is installed with a dedicated application for guiding the way to the visually impaired to help the visually impaired walking Giving is configured to include a cane, a compass sensor is provided inside the cane, the handle portion of the outside of the cane is provided with a direction indicator pin, when the user enters the destination by voice by running the road guidance application installed on the mobile terminal, The GPS sensor of the mobile terminal detects the user's location and calculates a route according to the destination, and receives the direction of the cane's direction from the compass sensor of the cane and the user's frontal direction measured by the GPS sensor. Based on your current location and destination location By calculating the direction of travel of the route, by instructing the direction of the direction pins provided on the handle portion of the cane to rotate the command by intuitively inducing the direction of travel through the body part of the user in contact with the direction indicator pins The purpose is to provide a path guide system for the visually impaired, which can effectively convey the accuracy of the direction of the user when guiding the route through the tactile sense, which is difficult to measure by voice guidance alone.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a visually impaired road guidance system consisting of a user's mobile communication terminal equipped with a GPS sensor and a road guide application for the visually impaired and a cane interoperating with the mobile communication terminal. Compass sensor for sensing the direction of the cane; Directional pins formed to be rotatable in a form projecting outward on one side of the handle portion of the cane; And a wireless communication module for wireless communication with the mobile communication terminal. In the road guidance application installed in the mobile communication terminal, the front direction of the user is determined through the direction of the cane detected by the compass sensor. And the azimuth angle of the direction in which the user should move toward the destination from the current position based on the current position and the destination position information of the user identified by the GPS sensor, and the front direction of the identified user, It provides a road guidance system for the visually impaired, characterized in that configured to rotate the indicator pin by the calculated angle.

The road guide system for the visually impaired according to the present invention detects the directing direction of the cane through a compass sensor provided in the cane and transmits it to the mobile communication terminal, and grasps the front direction in which the user is currently facing through the mobile communication terminal. As the direction of travel along the route is guided, accurate direction of travel guidance is possible as compared to a guide system using GPS including only user location information.

In addition, the direction indicating pin of the handle portion of the cane rotates in accordance with the direction of the route according to the destination, and by inducing the direction of movement intuitively through the body part of the user who is in contact with the direction indicating pin, it is difficult to estimate through the voice guidance. By using the tactile sense to deliver the narrow angle accurately, the conventional road guidance service for the visually impaired has the effect that the user can safely walk to the desired destination by compensating the disadvantage of cutting off the surrounding sound mainly by hearing. have.

1 is a view schematically showing the main components of the road guidance system for the blind according to an embodiment of the present invention
Figure 2 is a block diagram for explaining each configuration of the visually impaired walking stick and the mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention
3 is a view for explaining an example of identifying the front direction of the user through the compass sensor provided in the inside of the cane according to an embodiment of the present invention
4 is a view for explaining a process of finding a direction to be progressed by the user through the user's current location, a destination location, and the user's front direction;

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, although the Example of this invention is described in detail, this invention is not limited to a following example, unless the summary is exceeded.

1 is a view schematically showing the main components of the road guidance system for the visually impaired according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the road guidance system for the visually impaired according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a mobile communication terminal 200 and a mobile communication terminal 200 in which a dedicated application for guiding a road to the visually impaired is installed. Is connected to the wireless communication is configured to include a blind 100 for the visually impaired walking aids.

Accordingly, when the user inputs a destination by voice by executing a road guidance application 210 for the visually impaired installed in the mobile communication terminal 200 to receive the directions to the destination, the mobile communication terminal 200 uses a GPS sensor ( The location of the user is determined by determining the location of the user through the 220, and the front direction of the user, which is received by the direction of the walking direction of the cane 100 from the compass sensor of the cane 100, is determined through the GPS sensor 220. Based on the measured current position and the destination position of the user, the direction of the route according to the destination is calculated, and the direction indicating pin 110 provided on the handle 101 of the cane 100 is rotated according to the direction of the command. By transmitting a, inducing the direction of travel along the path through the body part of the user who is in contact with the direction indicator pin 110, such as a hand or finger, to estimate only by voice guidance Difficult it can accurately pass through the user's intuitive sense of touch to a narrow angle.

2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a road guidance system for the visually impaired according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the visually impaired road guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cane 100 for the visually impaired and a mobile communication terminal 200.

Here, the cane 100 for the visually impaired includes a direction indicating pin 110, a compass sensor 120, a vibration motor 130 and a wireless communication module 140.

Directional pin 110 is connected to the step motor (not shown) provided in the cane 100, is provided in the form protruding to the upper handle 101, the outside of the cane 100, the mobile communication terminal 200 The projecting part rotates according to the rotation of the step motor which receives the operation command from

The compass sensor 120 is provided inside the cane 100 to detect the direction the cane is facing in real time.

Vibration motor 130 is provided in a portion that the user grips the wand 100, such as the handle 101, when the user is separated by a predetermined range or more in a predetermined path in the guide path or a predetermined progress direction while walking according to the road guidance Alerts the user on the path through vibration.

The wireless communication module 140 communicates with the mobile communication terminal 200 through a short range wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth communication, and detects the direction of the cane 100 detected by the compass sensor 120 in real time. The mobile terminal 200 is transmitted to the communication terminal 200, and the mobile terminal 200 receives the heading direction information for the user to move to the destination.

Mobile communication terminal 200 according to the present invention can be applied to a variety of devices capable of wireless communication, such as smart phones, tablet PCs, smart watches, etc., the road guide application 210 for the visually impaired commercially registered in the application store, etc. You can use the directions service by downloading and installing the application.

As the user executes the visually impaired road guidance application 210, the user may input a destination using a voice recognition function, and if the destination is set according to the user directly inputting the voice, the road guidance application 210 may include a GPS sensor. After determining the current location of the user through 220, a path including a plurality of node information is calculated.

In this case, the calculated node includes a point that requires a change of direction during the movement of the user, and the mobile communication terminal 200 is based on the real-time direction of the cane 100 received from the cane 100 and the current position of the user. You will be guided by setting the route according to the destination.

Accordingly, in guiding the route, the mobile communication terminal 200 based on the real-time direction of the cane 100 received from the cane 100 and the user's current location and the destination location measured by the GPS sensor 220. Calculate the travel direction of the, and transmits the information about the calculated travel direction to the cane 100 through the short-range wireless communication.

In this case, the moving direction calculation method will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 to be described later.

In this manner, the cane 100 receives the traveling direction information from the mobile communication terminal 200, and the step motor (not shown) rotates according to the indicated direction of the direction indicating pin 110 connected to the step motor. Through the rotation, the user may be guided in a tactile direction along the path.

In this case, the mobile communication terminal 200 rotates the direction indicating pin 110 according to the received moving direction and also informs the user of the moving direction through voice guidance so that the user can easily grasp the direction. Of course.

In addition, by interlocking the guardian and the user through the road guidance application 210 as needed, by sharing the destination and the path according to the destination with the user's voice communication with the guardian's mobile terminal, the guardian of the user in real time It may be configured to identify the location and the route of movement.

3 is a view for explaining an example of identifying the front direction of the user through the compass sensor provided in the inside of the cane according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, in general, the visually impaired person walks while shaking the cane 100 side to side or at the same time hitting the ground to grasp surrounding objects.

Accordingly, since the directing direction values of the cane 100 which are sensed in real time through the compass sensor 120 provided inside the cane 100 continuously vary in fluidity and have a considerable deviation, It is inappropriate to use the measured value independently in the front direction of the user. Accordingly, in the present invention, through the application 210 installed in the mobile communication terminal 200, at a predetermined time interval, within a predetermined time interval range, For example, an average value calculated by sampling the orientation directions of the cane 100 sensed by the compass sensor 120 for three seconds every 1 minute interval, or both when the user shakes the cane 100 left and right. It is configured to grasp the median value of the outermost direction in the front direction of the user.

4 is a view for explaining a process of finding a direction in which the user proceeds through the user's current position and the destination position and the front direction of the user identified by the method as shown in FIG. 3.

을 계산하고, 상술한 도 3을 통해 설명된 방법을 이용하여 사용자의 현재 정면 방향(

)을 파악하여, 이렇게 파악된 목적지 방위각(

)과 사용자의 정면 방향 방위각(

)의 차이를 계산하여, 현재 사용자의 정면 방향(

)을 기준으로 사용자가 목적지를 향해 진행하여야 하는 방향의 방위각(

)을 하기의 [수학식 1]과 같이 구할 수 있다.That is, as shown in Figure 4, the mobile communication terminal 200 is azimuth angle toward the destination location (B) from the current position (A) of the user grasped from the GPS sensor

And the current frontal direction of the user using the method described with reference to FIG.

), The destination azimuth (

) And your heading azimuth (

), The current user's frontal direction (

Azimuth of the direction in which the user should travel toward the destination relative to

) Can be obtained as shown in Equation 1 below.

[Equation 1]

)을 지팡이(100)의 스텝 모터로 전달하여 스텝 모터를 회전시킴으로써, 스텝 모터에 연결된 방향지시핀(110)이 진행 방향에 맞춰 회동하여, 방향지시핀(110)과 접촉하고 있는 사용자의 신체부위의 촉각을 통해 사용자에게 직관적으로 전달되는 진행 방향의 안내가 이루어질 수 있다. Then, the azimuth angle in the advancing direction thus calculated (

By transmitting the step motor of the cane 100 and rotating the step motor, the direction indicating pin 110 connected to the step motor rotates in accordance with the traveling direction, and the body part of the user who is in contact with the direction indicating pin 110. Through the tactile sense of the guidance can be made of the intuitively delivered to the user.

In this case, when the user is guided in a tactile direction through the direction indicating pin 110 and provides voice guidance, the azimuth angle is divided into 12 equals or 24 equals for convenience, and the "right 1 o'clock direction" and "left 10". It is also possible to support the user to understand the direction of progress more easily by providing a guide comment, such as "the direction of the city."

As described above, the visual guidance system for the visually impaired in accordance with the present invention, when the user inputs a destination by voice through a visually-impaired route guidance application installed in the mobile communication terminal, the application is the current position of the user through the GPS sensor To calculate the route according to the destination, and receive the direction of the cane in real time from the compass sensor provided in the cane to determine the front direction of the user, based on the front direction of the user, the current position of the user and the destination location The direction direction pin connected to the step motor is rotated as the step motor is rotated by calculating the moving direction and transmitting the traveling direction information to the stick through the short range wireless communication.

Accordingly, the direction of movement can be intuitively guided through the body part of the user who is in contact with the direction indicator pin, and accurately transmitted through the tactile sense to the narrow angle that is difficult to estimate through voice, thereby providing the accuracy of the movement direction when guiding the route. It can increase effectively.

100: cane for the blind 101: handle
110: direction indicating pin 120: compass sensor
130: vibration motor 140: wireless communication module
200: mobile communication terminal

Claims (8)

In the visually impaired road guidance system comprising a GPS sensor, the mobile communication terminal of the user with a road guidance application for the blind is installed and a cane interworking with the mobile communication terminal through wireless communication,
The wand is,
A compass sensor for sensing the cane's direction;
Directional pins formed to be rotatable in a form projecting outward on one side of the handle portion of the cane; And
A wireless communication module for wireless communication with the mobile communication terminal;
Consists of including,
In the road guidance application installed in the mobile communication terminal,
At a predetermined time interval, within a predetermined time interval range, the cane direction values of the cane detected by the compass sensor are transmitted from the cane in real time, and the average values are calculated based on a sample of the cane directions of the cane. To determine the direction of the user's front,
The direction indicating pin is calculated by calculating the azimuth angle of the direction in which the user should move toward the destination from the current position based on the current position and the destination position information of the user identified by the GPS sensor, and the front direction of the identified user. Route guidance system for the visually impaired, characterized in that configured to rotate by the calculated angle.
The method of claim 1,
The mobile communication terminal,
And rotating the direction indicator pin by an angle at which the user should move toward the destination, and guiding a direction to the user through a voice message.
The method of claim 1,
The wireless communication module,
Route guidance system for the blind, characterized in that the Bluetooth module.
The method of claim 1,
In the cane for the visually impaired,
The step motor is connected to the direction indicating pin is provided,
Receiving azimuth of the direction in which the user should move from the current position to the destination from the mobile terminal, the direction guidance pin for the visually impaired, characterized in that for rotating by the transmitted azimuth through the step motor.
delete delete The method of claim 1,
In the wand,
Vibration motor is further provided, if the user deviates more than a predetermined range in the guide path or a predetermined progress direction while walking according to the road guidance, the road guidance for the visually impaired, characterized in that warns the deviation of the path through vibration system.
The method of claim 1,
The mobile communication terminal,
Road guidance system for the visually impaired, characterized in that any one of a smartphone, tablet PC or smart watch.

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