TaxSeeMe: A Taxi Administering System for the Visually Impaired

Abstract

This work aims at providing complete independence to visually impaired personnel to travel using public commuting services. In this regard, we demonstrate an assistance system that helps administer a taxi ride for the visually impaired person. Our system consists of a wearable camera fit on the user, and which communicates with a smartphone app. The camera device uses computer vision to detect obstacles and navigate the person, and relays the information to the smartphone app. The app integrates that information with a taxi scheduling service on the phone. The interaction between the user and the phone is carried through speech and audio instructions. The app administers a taxi for pickup when the user clicks the screen. The person walks to the designated pick-up point and the taxi is identified using pre-registered WiFi and/or Bluetooth IDs.