SightNavigator: AI-Powered Smart Glasses to Enable Independent Shopping for Visually Impaired Individuals

Blind and visually impaired individuals often rely on assistance when navigating crowded public spaces and locating products in markets. We introduce SightNavigator, a pair of AI-powered smart glasses that combines real-time obstacle detection, section recognition, and product identification to enable fully independent shopping. An integrated OAKD Lite depth camera and YOLOv8 model detect and guide users around obstacles, while voice commands allow section selection and ondemand retrieval of product information (e.g., price, expiration date, nutritional content). RFIDbased wayfinding ensures accurate market navigation without preplanning. In prototype trials, SightNavigator achieved over 95% object detection accuracy and reduced average aislefinding time by 40%. By uniting advanced computer vision, spatial sensing, and speech interaction in a lightweight wearable, SightNavigator delivers an inclusive shopping experience that restores autonomy, confidence, and safety for people with visual impairments.