A computer vision-based assistive mobile application for the visually impaired

Abstract

People with visual disabilities suffer environmentally, socially, and technologically. Navigating through places and recognizing objects are already a big challenge for them who require assistance. This study aimed to develop an android-based assistive application for the visually impaired. Specifically, the study aimed to create a system that could aid visually impaired individuals performs significant tasks through object recognition and identifying locations through GPS and Google Maps. In this study, the researchers used an android phone allowing a visually impaired individual to go from one place to another with the aid of the application. Google Maps is integrated to utilize GPS in identifying locations and giving distance directions and the system has a cloud server used for storing pinned locations. Furthermore, Haar-like features were used in object recognition.