Advancement in Smart Vision Systems: A Computer Vision-Based Assistive System for Visually Impaired Individuals

Visually impaired individuals experience significant mobility challenges due to the limited situational awareness provided by traditional aids like white canes. To address this, an AI-powered smart vision kit that enhances environmental perception through real-time object detection and audio feedback has been proposed. Our system combines embedded edge computing with optimized neural networks to deliver a portable, low-cost assistive solution. The hardware prototype incorporates a Raspberry Pi 4 and camera module with a TensorFlow Lite pipeline, utilizing a quantized MobileNetV1 SSD model trained on the COCO dataset for efficient inference. The framework processes live video streams via OpenCV, detecting objects within a 5-meter range at 12 FPS (tested on 480p input). Detections are converted to spatialized audio alerts using text-to-speech (TTS), prioritizing critical obstacles.