KR20160065532A

KR20160065532A - Method and system for guiding blind person

Info

Publication number: KR20160065532A
Application number: KR1020140169631A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 정동훈
Original assignee: 정동훈
Priority date: 2014-12-01
Filing date: 2014-12-01
Publication date: 2016-06-09

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and a method for guiding walking of a visually handicapped person. The present invention provides a system for guiding walking of a visually handicapped person, the system including smart belts that are detachably mounted on both legs of the visually handicapped person and are equipped with a plurality of detection sensors for detecting a danger factor situated within a predetermined distance in a travel direction of the visually handicapped person to detect the danger factor, and a control unit that outputs a warning signal corresponding to the danger factor, wherein the smart belt and the control unit communicate with each other through a Bluetooth communication. According to the present invention, a plurality of detection sensors for detecting an obstacle may be rapidly and easily mounted, in a band form, on both legs of a visually handicapped person and the visually handicapped person may be informed of existence of an obstacle during walking.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GUIDING BLIND PERSON BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001]

The present invention relates to a gait guidance system and a method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a gait guidance system and method thereof, in which a plurality of detection sensors for detecting an obstacle are band-shaped so as to be quickly and easily mounted on a leg of a visually impaired person, And a method thereof.

In general, visually impaired people use the help of a cane, a trained dog, or an assistant to determine the location or distance of the obstacle to overcome the visual impairment. However, this method can detect only when the obstacle is close to the distance of the cane, so that the efficiency is extremely low, and there is a need for the dog or assistant to accompany each time when going out. Recently, a vision assistant It is gradually being developed.

Also, in spite of the universality of the mobile communication terminal, it is difficult to use the mobile communication terminal for people with visual impairment, so that a keypad with braille is also installed in the mobile communication terminal. However, such a braille keypad alone did not provide adequate additional services other than voice calls to overcome the handicap difficulties. In recent years, techniques for delivering all information related to walking to the visually impaired have been developed with the auditory function as the main vehicle of information delivery to the visually impaired.

In Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-54125 (entitled "Wearable Walking Guidance Device and Method for the Visually Impaired Person"), the image information of the walkway is acquired from a camera mounted on a spectacle lens or the like to analyze information on a walkway, And a wearable computer capable of face recognition and character recognition.

However, the above-mentioned Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-54125 is inconvenient for a visually impaired person to use a computer for deciphering and judging image information obtained from a camera. In addition, there is a problem that a very large cost is required to manufacture the walking guide device.

On the other hand, the background art described above is technical information acquired by the inventor for the derivation of the present invention or obtained in the derivation process of the present invention, and can not necessarily be a known technology disclosed to the general public before the application of the present invention .

An object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of detection sensors for detecting obstacles in a band form so as to be quickly and easily mounted on the legs of a visually impaired person and to inform the presence of an obstacle while the visually impaired person is walking.

In addition, the present invention can be applied to a case in which a plurality of detection sensors are worn on the body of the visually impaired for visually impaired persons who are not visually impaired or who are not visually impaired, The purpose of this study is to ensure safety during walking.

An embodiment of the present invention aims at enabling a visually impaired person to inform the acquaintances or people around them of a dangerous situation when a dangerous situation occurs, so that they can cope with the dangerous situation.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the blind person inputs the destination information, the blind not only provides the guidance service with the smartphone of the blind and the plurality of detection sensors, but also informs the visually impaired The goal is to be able to move safely to this destination.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of detection sensors are mounted on the upper and lower sides of the knee of the visually impaired, respectively, and the detection range sensed by each of the plurality of detection sensors according to the angle at which the knee of the visually impaired is folded is different The purpose of this paper is to extend the detection range of risk factors widely.

Another object of the present invention is to guide a person with visual impairment by using a low-cost sensing sensor, to detect a dangerous element in front of the visually impaired person, and to guide the presence or absence of a dangerous element.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a walking guidance system for guiding the walking of a visually impaired person, the walking guidance system comprising: And a control unit for outputting a warning signal corresponding to the dangerous element, wherein the smart belt includes a plurality of sensors for sensing a dangerous element positioned within a predetermined distance from the smart belt, Are mutually communicated through Bluetooth communication.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gait guidance method for a visually impaired person using a gait guidance system, the gait guidance method comprising the steps of: The method comprising the steps of: setting a Bluetooth pairing of the belt; receiving a walking mode from the blind person; detecting the risk factor during walking of the visually impaired in accordance with the selection mode of the blind person; And outputting the corresponding warning signal.

According to any one of the above-mentioned objects of the present invention, a plurality of detection sensors for detecting an obstacle can be band-shaped and can be quickly and easily mounted on the legs of a visually impaired person, have.

Further, according to any one of the means for solving the problems of the present invention, a plurality of detection sensors are worn on the body of a visually impaired person for a visually impaired person who is not able to buy a seeing dog, As the presence of obstacles is confirmed, it is possible to secure safety when walking.

According to any one of the means for solving the problems of the present invention, when a dangerous situation occurs to a visually impaired person, the dangerous situation can be informed to the acquaintances or people around him so that he can cope with the dangerous situation.

Further, according to any one of the tasks of the present invention, when a blind person inputs destination information, not only a navigation service is provided by a smartphone of the blind and a plurality of detection sensors, So that the blind can safely move to the destination.

According to any one of the tasks of the present invention, a plurality of detection sensors are mounted on the upper and lower sides of the knee of the visually impaired, respectively, and each of the plurality of detection sensors is detected The detection range of the risk element can be broadened widely.

Further, according to any one of the means for solving the problems of the present invention, it is possible to guide the walking of the visually impaired by using the low-cost sensing sensor and to detect the dangerous element in front and guide the presence of the dangerous element.

The effects obtained by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description will be.

1 is a block diagram of a gait guide system for the visually impaired according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing a blind person wearing a smart belt according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a gait guidance method for a visually impaired person using a gait guidance system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as being "connected" to another part, it includes not only "directly connected" but also "electrically connected" with another part in between . Also, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without departing from the other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a gait guide system for the visually impaired according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gait guide system 100 can provide a service for guiding the gait of the blind based on the geographical information, so that the blind can safely move to the destination. In addition, the visually impaired person's walking guidance system 100 can provide various information to visually impaired persons in addition to geographical information, if the construction is underway in the weather or surrounding area, or if there is a rally or protest,

The visually impaired person walking guidance system 100 may include a smart belt 10 having a plurality of sensing sensors 11 and a user terminal 20 including a control unit 21. The control unit 21 and the plurality of detection sensors 11 can transmit and receive a detection signal corresponding to a dangerous element using short-distance wireless communication. An example of the short-range wireless communication may be Bluetooth.

Bluetooth refers to a standard that enables wireless communication in a bidirectional manner by wirelessly connecting a computer, a mobile communication terminal, and various electric / electronic devices located nearby.

2 is a view showing a blind person wearing a smart belt according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The smart belt 10 may be detachably attached to the legs of the visually impaired as shown in FIG. In other words, the smart belt 10 wears the smart belt main body 1 at the waist of the visually impaired, the first belt portion 10A is worn at the upper part of the knee of the visually impaired, The second belt portion 10B can be worn. The smart belt main body 1, the first belt portion 10A, and the second belt portion 10B may be integrally connected by one or more separate bands 2 arranged in the leg-length direction.

The smart belt 10 may include a plurality of sensing sensors 11 for sensing a risk element A positioned within a predetermined distance in the direction of the visually impaired person.

Here, the danger component (A) means a device or an object that obstructs walking to a visually impaired person including all obstacles, stationary objects and moving objects.

The plurality of detection sensors 11 calculates the distance between the hazardous element A and the plurality of detection sensors 11 and judges the dangerous situation when the calculated distance falls within a preset reference distance, To generate a danger detection signal corresponding to the received signal.

Preferably, the predetermined reference distance is a distance in a movement of one step that is normal for an adult when walking, and is preferably a distance of 1 m or less.

For example, when the predetermined reference distance is 1 m, the plurality of detection sensors 11 do not generate a danger detection signal when the distance between the dangerous element A and the plurality of detection sensors 11 is 1 m or more, A danger detection signal can be generated when the distance between the dangerous element A and the plurality of detection sensors 11 is less than 1 m.

On the other hand, the plurality of detection sensors 11 can be all sensors that use a time difference when an irradiated signal is reflected by a dangerous element such as an ultrasonic sensor, a PSD (Position Sensing Device) sensor, a CCD (Charged Coupled Device) Do. The plurality of detection sensors 11 used in the present invention detects a dangerous element located within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction during walking so as to prevent a safety accident that may occur during the walking of the visually handicapped person. It is not necessary. Therefore, it is preferable to use the ultrasonic sensor, which is relatively inexpensive, as the sensing sensor because the price of the smart belt 10 can be reduced.

More specifically, the plurality of sensing sensors 11 may include one or more sensors for detecting a dangerous element A positioned in front of the smart belt 10 along a walking direction of a visually impaired person, A front detection sensor 11A may be provided. The second belt portion 10B may be provided with one or more downward detection sensors 11B for detecting a dangerous element A located in front of the smart belt 10 along the walking direction of the visually impaired.

The front sensing sensor 11A and the downside sensing sensor 11B may generate a different danger detection signal according to a different sensing range and different sensing ranges of the dangerous element A sensed according to a height positioned from the ground. Here, the detection range means a point where a signal is radiated from each of the front detection sensor 11A and the rear detection sensor 11B, and the radiated signal crosses a risk element 1 m away from the direction of walking of the visually impaired, Means an area within a radius of 50 cm with respect to a point.

For example, the front sensing sensor 11A may generate a first danger sensing signal for the danger element A sensed in the sensing range where the front sensing sensor 11A is located, and the down sensing sensor 11B may generate a first sensing signal The sensor 11B can generate a second danger detection signal for the danger A detected in the detection range for the sensor 11B.

On the other hand, the plurality of detection sensors 11 can sense the danger signal differently according to the difference in distance between the left and right legs and the dangerous element A on the legs of the visually impaired person. That is, the plurality of detection sensors 11 detect at least a part of the detection range sensed by the plurality of detection sensors 11 of any one of the left and right legs of the blind and the plurality of detection sensors 11 of the other leg If the detected sensing ranges overlap, a notification signal can be generated.

That is, since the plurality of detection sensors 11 are worn on the left leg and the right leg of the visually impaired, they can generate different signals. For example, when a plurality of detection sensors 11 worn on the left leg of a visually impaired person are within a predetermined reference distance from the danger element A, the plurality of detection sensors 11 detect danger And the control unit 21 may output a warning signal corresponding to the generated danger detection signal.

When a plurality of detection sensors 11 worn on the right leg of a visually impaired person detect a dangerous element A sensed by a plurality of detection sensors 11 worn on the left leg according to the walking of the visually impaired, It is possible to generate a notification signal corresponding to the risk element (A). Accordingly, the control unit 21 can output a warning signal corresponding to the generated notification signal.

Such a visually impaired person's walking guidance system 100 primarily guides the dangerous situation corresponding to the risk element (A) when one of the legs of the visually impaired person approaches the risk element (A), and the other leg When approaching the risk factor (A), it can secondarily guide the risk situation corresponding to the risk factor (A).

Meanwhile, the control unit 21 shown in FIG. 1 can control the overall operation of the gait guide system 100.

The control unit 21 stores geographical information about pedestrian roads and pedestrian crossings for guidance of a visually impaired person. Based on the stored geographical information, a guidance voice is registered so that the visually impaired person can be guided to the destination It is possible to carry out navigation guidance.

Accordingly, when the destination information is input from the blind person, the control unit 21 can receive the current location information of the blind person from the GPS satellite and provide the route guidance service based on the current location information and the geographical information. The control unit 21 can output a warning signal corresponding to the risk element A upon receiving the risk element A in the route guidance service.

The control unit 21 can store the walk information of the visually impaired person or the movement warning information inputted by the visually impaired person, and data can be stored.

The control unit 21 may be included in the user terminal 20. The user terminal 20 is a wireless communication device that is guaranteed to be portable and mobility. The user terminal 20 may be a wireless communication device such as a Personal Communication System (PCS), a Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), a Personal Handyphone System (PHS), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) for mobile communications, IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication) -2000, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) -2000, W-CDMA (W-Code Division Multiple Access), Wibro (Wireless Broadband Internet) Mobile WiMAX (Mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), and the like.

On the other hand, the control unit 21 may output a warning signal corresponding to the danger element A detected by the plurality of detection sensors 11. That is, the control unit 21 can receive the danger detection signals generated by the plurality of detection sensors 11 and output a warning signal.

For example, the warning signal output from the plurality of detection sensors 11 may be acoustic information and vibration information for an invisible blind person. The acoustic information may be output using the speaker module of the user terminal 20 and the vibration information may be output using the vibrator of the user terminal 20. [

The control unit 21 may store one or more pieces of contact information registered by the blind person. Accordingly, upon receiving the danger detection signal from the plurality of detection sensors 11, the push notification can be transmitted to any one of the previously stored contact information. Accordingly, it is possible to notify people around the risk situation of the visually impaired.

Hereinafter, a gait guidance method for a visually impaired person using a gait guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a gait guidance method for a visually impaired person using a gait guidance system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The method for guiding a visually impaired person according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 includes steps that are processed in a time-series manner in the visually impaired person's walking guidance system 100 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 1 and 2 can be applied to the gait guidance method for the visually impaired person according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 have.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the visually impaired person walks the smart belt 10 on both legs and receives the execution of the application for providing the visually impaired person guidance service installed in the user terminal 20 The gynecological walking information system 100 can set the Bluetooth pairing of the smart belt 10 with the controller 21 included in the user terminal 20 at step S12.

Thereafter, the gait guide system 100 can select a gait mode from the blind (S13). The gait mode at this time includes a route mode in which a destination is input from a blind person and a destination is displayed, And a guide mode for guiding the road. At this time, when the walking mode is selected from the visually impaired, the pedestrian guidance system 100 stores the geographical information about the pedestrian road and the pedestrian crossing in order to guide the visually impaired, and based on the stored geographical information, You can navigate through the navigational navigation where the voice guidance is registered so that you can receive guidance while moving.

If the walking mode is selected from the user terminal 20 in step S13, the visually impaired person's walking guidance system 100 can detect the dangerous element A (S14). In step S14, the visually impaired person's walking guidance system 100 calculates the distance between the dangerous element A and the plurality of detection sensors 11, and determines that the calculated distance is within a predetermined reference distance, It is possible to generate a danger detection signal corresponding to the element.

When the visually impaired person walking guidance system 100 receives the generated danger detection signal in step S14, the visually impaired person's walking guidance system 100 can output a warning signal corresponding to the danger detection signal (S15).

The method for guiding the visually impaired person according to the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 3 can also be implemented in the form of a recording medium including instructions executable by a computer such as a program module executed by a computer. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. In addition, the computer-readable medium can include both computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Communication media typically includes any information delivery media, including computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave, or other transport mechanism.

The method of guiding a visually impaired person according to an embodiment of the present invention may also be implemented as a computer program (or a computer program product) including instructions executable by a computer. A computer program includes programmable machine instructions that are processed by a processor and can be implemented in a high-level programming language, an object-oriented programming language, an assembly language, or a machine language . The computer program may also be recorded on a computer readable recording medium of a type (e.g., memory, hard disk, magnetic / optical medium or solid-state drive).

Therefore, the method for guiding the visually impaired person according to the embodiment of the present invention can be realized by the computer program as described above being executed by the computing device. The computing device may include a processor, a memory, a storage device, a high-speed interface connected to the memory and a high-speed expansion port, and a low-speed interface connected to the low-speed bus and the storage device. Each of these components is connected to each other using a variety of buses and can be mounted on a common motherboard or mounted in any other suitable manner.

Where the processor may process instructions within the computing device, such as to display graphical information to provide a graphical user interface (GUI) on an external input, output device, such as a display connected to a high speed interface And commands stored in memory or storage devices. As another example, multiple processors and / or multiple busses may be used with multiple memory and memory types as appropriate. The processor may also be implemented as a chipset comprised of chips comprising multiple independent analog and / or digital processors.

The memory also stores information within the computing device. In one example, the memory may comprise volatile memory units or a collection thereof. In another example, the memory may be comprised of non-volatile memory units or a collection thereof. The memory may also be another type of computer readable medium such as, for example, a magnetic or optical disk.

And the storage device can provide a large amount of storage space to the computing device. The storage device may be a computer readable medium or a configuration including such a medium and may include, for example, devices in a SAN (Storage Area Network) or other configurations, and may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, Or a tape device, flash memory, or other similar semiconductor memory device or device array.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only and that those of ordinary skill in the art can readily understand that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. will be. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be distributed and implemented, and components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention do.

100: Walking guidance system for the visually impaired
10: smart belt 11: multiple sensing sensors
20: user terminal 21:

Claims

1. A walking guidance system for a visually impaired person,
A smart belt that is detachably attached to the legs of the visually impaired person and includes a plurality of sensing sensors for sensing a risk element located within a predetermined distance in a traveling direction of the visually impaired person, And
And a control unit for outputting a warning signal corresponding to the dangerous element,
Wherein the smart belt and the controller communicate with each other through Bluetooth communication.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein,
A walking mode in which a destination is received from the user terminal and a guide mode for guiding the destination when the visually impaired person is walking,
When the walking mode is selected from the user terminal, geographical information on pedestrian roads and pedestrian crossings is stored for guidance of the visually impaired, and based on the stored geographical information, Wherein the route guidance information includes a route guidance voice, and the route guidance information includes a route guidance voice.

The method according to claim 1,
The alarming signal may comprise:
Wherein the vibration information includes at least one of sound information and vibration information, and the sound information may be output using a speaker module of the control unit, and the vibration information may be outputted at a time Walking guidance system for the disabled.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of detection sensors comprise:
A danger detection signal corresponding to the dangerous element is generated by determining a dangerous situation when the calculated distance is within a predetermined reference distance, calculating a distance between the dangerous element and the plurality of sensing sensors,
Wherein,
And outputs the warning signal by receiving the danger detection signal.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein,
Stores the one or more pieces of contact information, and transmits the push notification to any one of the pre-stored contact information when the risk element is received from the plurality of detection sensors.

The method according to claim 1,
The smart belt
A first belt portion worn on the upper part of the knee of the visually impaired;
At least one frontal sensing sensor provided on the first belt portion and sensing the dangerous element located in front of the smart belt along the walking direction of the visually impaired;
A second belt portion to be worn on the lower portion of the knee of the visually impaired; And
And one or more downward detection sensors provided on the second belt portion for sensing the dangerous elements positioned in front of the smart belt according to a walking direction of the visually impaired person.

The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the front sensing sensor and the downward sensing sensor,
Wherein the detection range of the dangerous element to be sensed is different according to the height from the ground and the warning signal is output in accordance with the different sensing range.

5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the plurality of detection sensors comprise:
The risk signal is differently detected according to the difference in distance between the left and right legs and the dangerous element in the legs of the visually impaired person, And generates a notification signal when at least a portion of the detection range detected by the plurality of detection sensors of the other leg overlap with each other.

9. A method of guiding a visually impaired person using the gait guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
Setting Bluetooth pairing of the smart belt with the control unit upon detecting application execution from the blind person;
Selecting a walking mode including a guidance mode for receiving a destination from the visually impaired person and guiding a destination when the visually impaired person is walking;
Sensing the risk factor during walking of the visually impaired in accordance with the selected walking mode of the visually impaired; And
And outputting the warning signal corresponding to the dangerous element.

1. A smart belt for communicating with a user terminal via Bluetooth communication to guide the visually impaired to walk,
The smart belt
A first belt portion worn on the upper part of the knee of the visually impaired;
At least one frontal sensing sensor provided on the first belt portion and sensing a dangerous element positioned in front of the smart belt along the walking direction of the visually impaired;
A second belt portion to be worn on the lower portion of the knee of the visually impaired; And
And one or more downward detection sensors provided on the second belt portion for sensing a dangerous element positioned in front of the smart belt according to a walking direction of the visually impaired,
The smart belt
Wherein when the risk element is detected from at least one of the front sensing sensor and the rear sensing sensor, a risk signal corresponding to the risk element is generated, and the generated risk signal is transmitted to the user terminal.