Safe Displacements Device for All Conditions Blind People

Abstract

One of the challenges faced by the blind to achieve optimum mobility is obstacles detection and avoidance. The traditional aid is the mobility white cane, but nowadays, there are also electronic travel aids. However, none of them is widely used. The eBAT (electronic Buzzer for Autonomous Travel) has been designed to provide protection and easy usage, interacting with a user’s mobile phone. To improve its performance, a usage test was carried out by 25 totally blind users divided by sex, age range and autonomy in mobility. The main results are that the eBAT gives a reduction in the involuntary contacts but also decreases the walking speed. There are differences between sex, age and mobility groups but with limited statistical significance, and there are also some correlations between variables.