A blind walking navigation method and system based on head orientation cooperation

Abstract

The application discloses a blind walking navigation method and system based on head orientation cooperation, and belongs to the technical field of intelligent auxiliary equipment. The system comprises a mobile terminal and a navigation cap worn on the head. The navigation cap is provided with: a whole-ring tactile feedback module, twelve micro-vibrators (21) arranged in a clock type distribution along the inner side of the cap ring; a forward ultrasonic obstacle avoidance module composed of an ultrasonic ranging element (31) and an electronic sound emitting element (32); and an integrated control module (4) arranged on the outer side of the rear part of the cap body, which internally encapsulates a main control module, a nine-axis attitude detection module and a Bluetooth communication module. The mobile terminal calls a navigation engine to obtain a next path point absolute azimuth angle A and issues the same; the main control module obtains a cap real-time heading angle B, calculates a relative deflection angle Delta = A-B, and maps the same to a micro-vibrator corresponding to a clock point N to drive directional guidance vibration; when the forward ultrasonic obstacle avoidance module measures that the distance of an obstacle is less than a preset threshold, the electronic sound emitting element is controlled to emit a prompt sound, and the directional guidance vibration remains uninterrupted. The application converts abstract geographical positions into physical intuition, gets rid of the interference of a mobile phone holding posture, and avoids a cap internal bulge through an external integrated module, thereby significantly improving the travel safety and wearing comfort of visually impaired people.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of intelligent assistive devices and mobile computing technology, specifically to a method and system for blind walking navigation based on head orientation coordination, which is particularly suitable for path guidance and obstacle warning for visually impaired people walking outdoors. Background Technology

[0002] Visually impaired individuals primarily rely on smartphone voice navigation software for outdoor travel. However, existing technologies suffer from the following drawbacks: Delayed orientation perception: Voice prompts (such as "50 meters to the left and ahead") require users to perform spatial transformations in their minds and cannot provide intuitive guidance that is synchronized with the body's orientation in real time.

[0003] Phone posture interference: Phones are usually held in the hand or placed in a pocket, and the posture of their built-in sensors is inconsistent with the user's direction of travel, causing deviations in navigation data.

[0004] Lack of near-field protection: Conventional navigation systems cannot detect local obstacles directly in front (such as utility poles, trees, and parked vehicles), making visually impaired individuals highly susceptible to collisions.

[0005] Multitasking interference: In noisy environments, voice prompts are easily masked, and blind people have difficulty perceiving ambient sounds while listening to navigation voices.

[0006] Existing technologies include navigation caps with vibration motors, but most of them use four-way (front, back, left, right) or six-way vibration, resulting in low directional resolution; and they have not solved the problem of decoupling the phone's posture from the head's orientation. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The technical problem to be solved: The present invention aims to overcome the above-mentioned defects and provide a navigation method and system for the blind that provides accurate directional guidance, is not affected by the way the phone is held, and has forward obstacle avoidance capabilities.

[0008] Technical solution:

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a method for blind pedestrian navigation based on head orientation coordination, comprising the following steps: S1. The mobile terminal calls the pedestrian navigation engine to obtain the absolute azimuth angle A of the next waypoint, and sends A to the navigation hat worn on the user's head via Bluetooth; S2. The attitude detection module inside the navigation cap measures the current absolute heading angle B of the cap in real time; S3. The main control module of the navigation cap calculates the relative deflection angle Δ = A − B, and maps Δ to the micro vibrator corresponding to the clock position N among the twelve micro vibrators arranged circumferentially on the inner side of the cap ring; S4. Drive the Nth micro-vibrator to generate directional guidance vibration; S5. The forward ultrasonic obstacle avoidance module periodically measures the distance D of the obstacle in front of the cap. When D is less than the first preset threshold, the electronic sound-emitting element is controlled to emit an obstacle avoidance prompt sound, and the directional guidance vibration is maintained without interruption. When D is less than the more stringent second preset threshold, all twelve micro-vibrators are additionally driven to vibrate synchronously and rapidly.

[0010] Meanwhile, the present invention also provides a system for implementing the above method, including a mobile terminal and a navigation cap, wherein the navigation cap specifically includes a full-loop haptic feedback module, a forward ultrasonic obstacle avoidance module and an integrated control module.

[0011] Beneficial effects

[0012] By using the twelve o'clock mapping, abstract geographical locations are transformed into bodily intuition, eliminating the need for secondary brain processing and providing intuitive guidance.

[0013] Navigation calculations are based on the hat's own absolute heading angle, completely eliminating the limitations of holding the phone and providing strong anti-interference capabilities.

[0014] Obstacle avoidance prompts (sound) and navigation guidance (vibration) do not interfere with each other, allowing users to know their direction of travel while avoiding obstacles. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a rear view schematic diagram of the overall structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a top cross-sectional view of the hatband portion according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a system principle block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] (Note: The above figures are attached to the utility model patent application filed on the same day.) Figure 1 (Note: In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or similar structures, which will not be repeated here.) Detailed Implementation

[0018] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] See Figures 1 to 4 The navigation system for the blind in this embodiment includes a mobile terminal (such as a smartphone) and a navigation hat.

[0020] Hardware configuration:

[0021] The navigation cap includes a cap body (1). A full-ring tactile feedback module (2) is provided on the cap body (1), which has twelve micro-vibrators (21) arranged circumferentially along the inner side of the cap ring, distributed in a clockwork pattern, with the direction facing the cap brim defined as the twelve o'clock position. The forward ultrasonic obstacle avoidance module (3) consists of an ultrasonic ranging element (31) and an electronic sound generating element (32), with the ultrasonic ranging element (31) located at the foremost edge of the cap brim. An integrated control module (4) is located on the outer rear part of the cap body, and internally it contains a main control module (41), a nine-axis attitude detection module (42), a Bluetooth communication module (43), and a power supply module (44) packaged using SMT technology.

[0022] Workflow:

[0023] Initialization: The wearer stands facing forward and sends a calibration command through the mobile app. The main control module (41) records the heading angle output by the current nine-axis attitude detection module (42) as the reference.

[0024] Navigation guidance: The mobile app calls the map SDK to obtain the absolute azimuth angle A of the next turn (e.g., due east 90°), and sends it to the main control module (41) via the Bluetooth communication module (43). The main control module (41) reads the hat heading angle B (e.g., 85°) output in real time by the nine-axis attitude detection module (42) and calculates Δ=5°. The main control module (41) maps 5° to "1 o'clock direction" and drives the first micro-vibrator (21) to vibrate continuously, prompting the user to make a slight adjustment to the right.

[0025] Obstacle avoidance coordination: The ultrasonic ranging element (31) monitors the distance D in real time. When D ≤ 1.5m (first preset threshold), the main control module (41) controls the electronic sound-emitting element (32) to emit an intermittent "beep beep" sound. At the same time, the vibration of the micro-vibrator driven by the navigation guidance is not affected, so the user can know that "there is an obstacle ahead" and also that "it is necessary to go to the right". When D ≤ 0.5m (second preset threshold), the main control module (41) controls all 12 micro-vibrators to vibrate synchronously, prompting the user to stop moving forward immediately.

[0026] Technical advantages:

[0027] This invention offloads complex path planning to a more powerful mobile terminal, utilizing only the nine-axis IMU at the hat end for lightweight angle subtraction calculations, greatly reducing the power consumption of the hat end and extending battery life. At the same time, by placing the thicker integrated control module (4) on the outer rear part of the hat body, the flatness of the inner side of the hatband is ensured, avoiding the pressure of the inner bulge on the wearer's head, significantly improving the travel safety and wearing comfort of visually impaired people.

[0028] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for blind pedestrian navigation based on head orientation coordination, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. The mobile terminal calls the pedestrian navigation engine to obtain the absolute azimuth angle A of the next waypoint, and sends A to the navigation hat worn on the user's head via Bluetooth; S2. The attitude detection module inside the navigation cap measures the current absolute heading angle B of the cap in real time; S3. The main control module of the navigation cap calculates the relative deflection angle Δ = A − B, and maps Δ to the micro vibrator corresponding to the clock position N among the twelve micro vibrators arranged circumferentially on the inner side of the cap ring; S4. Drive the Nth micro-vibrator to generate directional guidance vibration; S5. The forward ultrasonic obstacle avoidance module periodically measures the distance D of the obstacle in front of the cap. When D is less than the first preset threshold, the electronic sound-emitting element is controlled to emit an obstacle avoidance warning sound, and the directional guidance vibration is maintained without interruption. When D is less than the more stringent second preset threshold, all twelve micro-vibrators are additionally driven to vibrate synchronously to indicate the risk of an emergency collision.

2. The method for blind pedestrian navigation according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S3, the 360° azimuth angle is divided into 12 sectors, which correspond to the twelve o'clock to eleven o'clock positions of the twelve micro-vibrators respectively. The Nth micro-vibrator is activated based on the sector where Δ is located.

3. The method for blind pedestrian navigation according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S2, the attitude detection module is a nine-axis attitude reference system (AHRS), which includes a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope and a three-axis magnetometer, and is used to output the absolute heading angle B of the cap.

4. A walking navigation system for the blind based on head orientation coordination, characterized in that, include: The mobile terminal is used to run the pedestrian navigation engine and calculate the absolute azimuth angle A of the next path point, and sends A through the Bluetooth communication module. Navigation cap, worn on the user's head, includes: The whole-ring tactile feedback module has twelve micro-vibrators arranged circumferentially along the inner side of the cap ring, distributed in a clockwork pattern; The forward ultrasonic obstacle avoidance module consists of an ultrasonic ranging element and an electronic sound generating element; An integrated control module is internally encapsulated with a main control module and a nine-axis attitude detection module. The main control module is electrically connected to the whole-ring haptic feedback module, the ultrasonic ranging element, the electronic sound generation element, and the nine-axis attitude detection module, respectively. The main control module is used to receive the absolute azimuth angle A, obtain the absolute heading angle B measured by the nine-axis attitude detection module, calculate Δ=A−B and map it to the corresponding clock position N to drive the Nth micro-vibrator to vibrate; when the distance to the obstacle measured by the forward ultrasonic obstacle avoidance module is less than the first preset threshold, the electronic sound-emitting element is controlled to emit an obstacle avoidance prompt sound, and the directional guidance vibration is maintained.

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