🐾
On 30 Jan 2024, at 19:23, <mrmartinkelly20@xxxxxxxxx>===========================================================
<mrmartinkelly20@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Eleanor! You have your finger on the pulse as usual and hopefully, all is
good with you?
No doubt, we'll see you soon again...Slainte MK
-----Original Message-----
From: fb-exchange-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <fb-exchange-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf Of Eleanor Martha Burke
Sent: 30 January 2024 14:10
To: fb-exchange@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [fb-exchange] Re: New app effectively aids blind and visually
impaired commuters in finding bus stops
sounds interesting, would be good if we could download and try it out.
On 30 Jan 2024, at 11:45, Tony Sweeney <tonymsweeney@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:micro-navigation smartphone app to provide assistance to those who are blind
New app effectively aids blind and visually impaired commuters in
finding bus stops "All_Aboard" app effectively aids blind and visually
impaired commuters in finding bus stops Ryan Jaslow
A team of researchers from Mass Eye and Ear have developed a
or visually impaired (BVI) in finding their bus stops, and a new study
published in Translational Vision Science & Technology found the success
rate of the app was substantially higher than that of Google Maps.
Current GPS systems have sufficient macro-navigation for planning routesusing public transportation. However, micro-navigation, such as finding the
exact locations of bus stops and destinations, remains an issue for people
who are BVI, as GPS-based localization for this is less accurate. To combat
this problem, the researchers developed a mobile app called All_Aboard,
which is meant to be used in conjunction with mainstream GPS systems and
focuses on improving micro-navigation.
When a GPS indicates that a BVI user is nearing their destination, that iswhen All_Aboard should be opened. The app uses the phones' camera to detect
street signs from 30 to 50 feet away. It then uses auditory cues to direct
the user towards their destination, with the frequency of the sounds
changing as they approach the endpoint.
The app is powered by artificial intelligence, using a deep learningneural network trained on about 10,000 images of bus stops collected in a
given city or region. The app is currently capable of recognizing bus stops
in 10 major cities/regions around the world.
In the study, 24 BVI individuals used All_Aboard along with Google Maps tonavigate a set route with 10 bus stops at an urban (Boston) and suburban
site (Newton, Mass.). The results of the study were measured in terms of
localization error and rate of successful localization.
Localization error, or gap distance, is defined as the distance betweenthe desired destination and maps marked end point. The rate of successful
localization is the probability of getting close enough to the bus stops.
The researchers found that in both urban and suburban locations, All_Aboard
had a success rate of 93%, whereas Google Maps had a 52% success rate.
Additionally, the average gap distance with Google Maps was 6.62 meters and
1.54 meters with All_Aboard.
GPS accuracy is supposed to be acceptable in suburban areas, according toLuo, who added it was not initially expected that the performance with
Google Maps in Newton, Mass. would be so low. Previous research from Luo and
his team found this problem may be due to widespread errors in bus stop
location mapping data in Google Maps.
"Our findings suggest that the All_Aboard app could help travelers withvisual impairments in navigation by accurately detecting the bus stop, and
therefore greatly reducing their chance of missing buses due to standing too
far from the bus stops," said Gang Luo, Ph.D., of the Schepens Eye Research
Institute of Mass Eye and Ear. "This study indicates that computer
vision-based object recognition capabilities can be used in a complementary
way and provide added benefit to purely mapping-based, macro-navigation
services in real-world settings."
More information: Shrinivas Pundlik et al, Field Evaluation of a===========================================================
Mobile App for Assisting Blind and Visually Impaired Travelers to Find
Bus Stops, Translational Vision Science & Technology (2024). DOI:
10.1167/tvst.13.1.11
https://techxplore.com/news/2024-01-app-effectively-aids-visually-impa
ired.html
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