An Object Tracking and Visual Servoing System for the Visually Impaired

Abstract

In this work, we have taken the first step towards the creation of a computerized seeing-eye guide dog. The system we presented extends the development of assistive technology for the visually impaired into a new area: object tracking and visual servoing. The system uses computer vision to provide a kind of surrogate sight for the human user; sensing information from the environment and communicating it through haptic signalling. Our proof-of concept prototype is a low-cost wearable system which uses a colour camera to analyze a scene and recognize a desired object, then generate tactile cues to the wearer to steer his or her hand towards the object. We have proved the system in trials with random users in an unstructured environment.