Mobility Assistant For Visually Impaired (MAVI)

MAVI is a project that strives to empower visually impaired individuals with enhanced mobility, particularly in India.
A MAJOR CHALLENGE IN THIS REGARD IS THE WIDE RANGE OF COMPLEXITIES THAT ARISE IN THE INDIAN SCENARIO DUE TO NON-STANDARD PRACTICES.

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Overview

Visually impaired individuals face a daily challenge of independent and safe mobility. Difficulties posed in smooth mobility due to visual impairment can severely limit the opportunities for economic development of a person. Hence, Mobility Assistant for the Visually Impaired (MAVI) is aimed to provide a safe, reliable and a socially inclusive solution for mobility in an unconstrained environment for the visually impaired persons. After the grand success of SmartCane, we have identified more serious problems which could be solved using the current technologies. The three major problems we want to tackle with MAVI are as follows:

  • Safety

    • The MAVI device intends to provide real time safety against stray animals or obstructions in the walkway which could be potentially missed/dangerous for the cane.

  • Social Inclusion

    • The device is portable to carry around and also helps the user to identify the presence of nearby pedestrians while walking.

  • Navigation

    • While walking the MAVI device is designed to assist the user by detecting and reading out signboards written in both English/Hindi.

    MAVI is a system which houses various Computer Vision algorthims to solve the above listed problems. The CV algorthms are deployed on low cost neural network accelerators and a RaspberryPi 4 chipset connected to a portable and low cost camera and powered by a 20000mAH power bank. MAVI is a solution designed to be safe, reliable and easy-to-use for any visually impaired individual to overcome daily navigation challenges.

    System diagram of MAVI showing input and output modalities.
    Working prototype of the MAVI device
    A recent prototype fabricated for MAVI.
    MAVI system diagram
    MAVI device mounted on a user with a chest strap.
    MAVI device mounted using a chest strap

    Computer Vision Components

    Texture Classification

    Pedestrain Detection

    If the user seeks help nearby, the MAVI device detects pedestrians along their path, notifying the user of their presence through an audio signal on the Android app.

    Signboard Detection

    Signboard Detection

    Signboards make life simpler for all of us while walking or travelling. Being able to process signboards while walking is a critical requirement for independent mobility.

    Face Detection

    Text detection and OCR

    MAVI device detects signboards along the user's path and reads out instructions in Hindi/English through the andriod app to aid the user in navigating to their destination.

    Animal Detection

    Animal Detection

    Encountering stray animals on a pedetrain walkway is quite common in an Indian scenario, hence the MAVI device is designed to caution the user whenever a stray animal is detected in their path.

    SO WHAT YOU THINK ?

    Please feel free to share your precious feedback/suggestions with us. We'd also like to hear about similar work you're working on.

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