Information and Navigation System for Person with Visual Impairment

The paper deals with the area of the technical solution of the information and navigation system intended for persons with visual impairment. The first part is focused on the transfer of information concerned using the conductivity properties of the human body as a transmission channel. This principle is referred to as Personal Area Network (PAN). The principle used of data transmission through the human body can be implemented in several specific applications. The second part of the paper addresses the area of navigation for persons with visual impairment to ensure their easier orientation in an unknown terrain. This part is focused on the navigation of the visually impaired, for their easier orientation in unknown areas. The technical navigation system, whose hardware is integrated into the standard stick for the blind, is based on the principle of a digital analysis of a signal from the magnetometer. The analyzed signal occurs by moving the stick over surface-distributed neodymium magnets, which, with their distribution and orientation of magnetic poles, creates basic orientation pictograms. The conclusion of the paper describes the design of an information and navigation system that the authors have practically implemented and tested.