Home Environment Change Detection for Visually Impaired Users
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Solution Overview
Problem
Visually impaired individuals face challenges navigating familiar home environments due to unexpected obstacles, such as moved furniture, which can be hazardous when they are not on guard for obstacles in familiar settings.
Innovation Solution
A system and method utilizing image processing, sonar mapping, and motion sensing systems to monitor the home environment, detect changes, and provide notifications of potential obstacles through a network of sensors, including cameras, microphones, and motion detectors, connected to mobile devices for timely alerts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a visually impaired user navigates a familiar home environment without continuous monitoring, then energy consumption and system complexity are reduced, but safety decreases due to undetected environmental changes such as moved furniture
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary monitoring of the home environment to establish a baseline map of furniture and obstacles before the user begins navigation. This pre-captured environmental data is stored and compared against real-time sensor readings during navigation, enabling the system to detect changes without requiring continuous active monitoring throughout the entire environment.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of continuous monitoring, the system employs periodic detection at key locations and intervals during navigation. Sensors are activated at specific moments (e.g., when the user approaches certain areas or after predetermined time intervals) to check for environmental changes, reducing overall system activity while maintaining safety.
2Measurement precision
If continuous environmental monitoring is implemented using multiple sensors, then detection precision of environmental changes is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures environmental data in advance using multiple sensors (cameras, microphones, motion detectors) to create a detailed baseline map of the home environment. This preliminary data collection includes high-precision measurements of furniture positions, ambient sounds, and motion patterns. Once the baseline is established, the system enters a lower-power mode, activating sensors only when changes are suspected or at predetermined intervals.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system dynamically adjusts its activity level based on navigation context. Sensors operate at full precision when the user is in high-risk areas or when environmental conditions suggest potential changes, and reduce to standby mode during stable periods. This dynamic operation allows the system to maintain high detection precision when needed while minimizing energy consumption during normal navigation.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and computer implemented method for detecting a change in a home environment for a visually impaired user is disclosed. The method may include monitoring the home environment using a set of sensors configured to collect environment data for a set of areas of the home environment. The method may also include detecting an environmental change in an area of the home environment. The method may also include providing, in response to a triggering event, a notification of the environmental change.