VIP SpaceNav – smart buildings for people with visual impairments

People with visual impairments have difficulties in navigating indoor spaces and identifying elements of interest in the environment. There are a plethora of assistive systems that address this problem, but most of them are either expensive, depend on specialized hardware or lack intuitiveness. VIP SpaceNav is a platform for low-cost, intuitive configuration and safe navigation, intended for people with visual impairments. The system's content management system stores a 3D model of the building, together with localization information and elements of interest. The mobile application dedicated to users with visual impairments runs a localization component, as well as an obstacle detection module, providing navigation cues and information about points of interest in the vicinity, with the help of text-to-speech and audio signals. This paper presents a concept of indoor guidance for people with visual impairments and a first materialization of the prototype, based on state-of-the-art localization and spatial sounds. It also describes the piloting of the system in complex scenarios in a real building, demonstrating its potential of deployment in any indoor space, with minimal financial and time resources.