Abstract
Most blind and vision-impaired people use a white cane or a guide dog to aid their walking. The conventional white cane helps the user to perceive the environment simply by identifying the presence of nearby obstacles. In the present study, three infrared range sensors were used to identify the floor state. The sensor system, affixed to the user’s belt, does not require swinging motion or any other movement by the user. The three sensors are configured radially, and the design parameters are selected based on the sensor characteristics. The main difference from the conventional range sensor system for the blind is that the infrared range sensor system identifies three discrete states (even surface, ascending stair, descending stair). The condition for the state transition was derived from a sensor system model. Additionally, the effects of sensor system movement were verified by covariance analysis.
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This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Yang Shi
Minyoung Lee received his B.S. degree in Mechanical and System Design Engineering from Hongik University, Seoul, Korea, in 2010. He is working towards his M.S. degree there. His research focuses on sensor fusion.
Sooyong Lee received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, in 1989 and 1991, respectively, and his Ph.D. degree from MIT, Cambridge, MA, in 1996. He worked as a Senior Research Scientist at KIST and then as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University. He joined Hongik University, Seoul, Korea, in 2003, and is currently an Associate Professor in the Mechanical and System Design Engineering Department. His current research includes localization and sensor fusion.
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Lee, M., Lee, S. Design and analysis of an infrared range sensor system for floor-state estimation. J Mech Sci Technol 25, 1043–1050 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-011-0141-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-011-0141-5