VIP SpaceNav will design and develop a platform for low cost, rapid configuration and safe navigation, with the potential to transform any indoor space into an accessible location for visually impaired people.
The platform’s content management system (CMS) will store a map of the building, along with localization data and elements of interest (doors, exits, stairs, etc.). A configuration application, intended to be used by location managers, will provide an intuitive workflow to define or load a map of the building, to configure the support for localization and to indicate points of interest and other navigation cues. The smartphone application used by the VIP will run a localization service and an obstacle detection module, providing instructions for safe navigation from one point of interest to another, or for free navigation inside a building. The estimation of the VIP’s smartphone position will be accomplished by fusing data from the device’s inertial sensors and the visual information acquired with the phone’s video camera.
With VIP SpaceNav, a hypermarket will become an accessible location for VIP, where the position of each section (e.g., cosmetics department) is indicated. Also, the route to certain stores inside a mall will be easily configured. A blind person will be able to safely navigate within a university and locate different seminar rooms or laboratories. The use cases are endless. VIP SpaceNav will be easily deployed in any public indoor space (commercial, cultural, educational, etc.), or even in offices of private companies, with minimal time and financial resources.