Computer Vision for Supporting Visually Impaired People: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Globally around the world in 2010, the number of people of all ages visually impaired is estimated to be 285 million, of whom 39 million are blind according to the study of World Health Organization (Global Data on Visual Impairments, 2010). Visual impairment has a significant impact on individuals’ quality of life, including their ability to work and to develop personal relationships. Almost half (48 %) of the visually impaired feel “moderately” or “completely” cut off from people and things around them (Hakobyan, Lumsden, O’Sullivan, & Bartlett, 2013). We believe that technology has the potential to enhance individuals’ ability to participate fully in societal activities and to live independently. So, in this paper we focused to presents a comprehensive literature review about different algorithms of computer vision for supporting blind/vision impaired people, different devices used and the supported tasks. From the 13 eligible papers, we found positive effects of the use of computer vision for supporting visually impaired people. These effects included: the detection of obstacles, objects, door and text, traffic lights, sign detections and navigation. But the biggest challenge for developers now is to increase the speed of time and improve its accuracy, and we expect the future will have a complete package or solution where blind or vision impaired people will get all the solution together (i.e., map, indoor-outdoor navigation, object recognition, obstacle recognition, person recognition, human crowd behavior, crowd human counting, study/reading, entertainment etc.) in one software and in hand-held devices like android or any handy devices.

A Review of Machine Learning and Deep Learning for Object Detection, Semantic Segmentation, and Human Action Recognition in Machine and Robotic Vision

“…Computer vision, through digital image processing, empowers machines to map surroundings, identify obstacles, and determine their positions with high precision [1,2]. This multidisciplinary field integrates computer science, artificial intelligence, and image analysis to extract meaningful insights from the physical world, empowering computers to make informed decisions [3]. Real-time vision algorithms, applied in domains like robotics and mobile devices, have yielded significant results, leaving a lasting impact on the scientific community [4].…”

“…Machine vision has revolutionized computer systems, empowering them with advanced artificial intelligence techniques that surpass human capabilities in various specific tasks. Through computer vision systems, computers have gained the ability to perceive and comprehend the visual world [3].…”

A Novel Algorithm of Distance Calculation Based-on Grid-Edge-Depth-Map and Gyroscope for Visually-Impaired

“…There are various types of disabilities or disabilities. One is visual impairment [1][2][3][4][5]. A person with disabilities in seeing is usually gifted with other abilities, such as hearing, that are better than ordinary people who are expected [3,5,6].…”

“…Visual disabilities use a navigational aid as a stick when walking or doing activities in specific environments when no one accompanies them. An ultrasonic stick is one of the innovations with limited functionality [1][2][3][4]. Unfortunately, there are not many assistive devices that people with visual disabilities can use without having to perform eye transplant surgery.…”

Vision recovery with perceptual learning and non-invasive brain stimulation: Experimental set-ups and recent results, a review of the literature

“…This is confirmed by the consequences of vision impairment that severely affect the quality of life and the way people interact with their surroundings. Indeed, half of the people with vision impairment reported feeling cut off from other people and things around them (Hakobyan et al, 2013;Anthony & Kusnadi, 2021). This statistic is even more crucial when considering that around the globe at least 2.2 billion people are affected by a near or distance vision impairment and among them, 1 billion has a moderate or severe vision impairment or blindness (Steinmetz et al, 2021;Bourne et al, 2021;Fricke et al, 2018).…”