eyeHelp: Shopping Assistant for the Blind and Visually Impaired

1. 3 2 1 eyeHelp: Shopping Assistant for the Blind and Visually Impaired Sean Morrell, University of Massachusetts Amherst Prof. Aura Ganz, University of Massachusetts Amherst Carole Wilson, Western Massachusetts Commission for the Blind • Motivation • 11 million people in the United States suffer from visual impairment • Visually impaired are determined to maintain their independence (e.g. shopping) • Currently shopping requires assistance from Customer Service • No solution to this specific problem is currently available Abstract Major obstacles are presented as the population of 11 million blind and visually impaired in the United States strives to maintain their independence. Grocery shopping is one of these obstacles and eyeHelp, a navigational shopping aid for the blind and visually impaired, is the solution. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags have become the de facto standard in inventory management in large grocery stores (e.g. Big Y). eyeHelp employs an off-the-shelf RFID enabled mobile device (e.g. PDA) which enables the user to interact with this environment and obtain an understanding of his/her surroundings. The system is able to audibly portray, via Text-to-Speech software, the user’s location, navigational instruction and product information using a database collected from Big Y in Hadley, MA. Through the use of beta testers from the blind and visually impaired community in Western Massachusetts, we have been able to prove that eyeHelp is a viable solution as a navigational aid in grocery stores. • Research Objectives • Better understand the needs of the blind and visually impaired • Establish RFID as a viable technology for eyeHelp • Develop a user friendly interface • Determine the bestrouting algorithm for this navigation problem • Develop a prototype RFID kiosk Scenario Development Phases & Progress Phase 1 - Aisles and general item list (Complete Awaiting Test) Phase 2 - Aisle resolution with simple routing (Complete Awaiting Test) Phase 3 – Shopping list integration with enhanced routing (In Progress) Note: Using phased development allowed us to identify and correct errors more efficiently • User enters store with a list of desire items • Customer Service creates a digital shopping list and provides the user with the eyeHelp device • Scanning aisle tags: • User receives general aisle information (e.g. the aisle number and general contents) • User is guided to each item on his/her list (using a customized routing algorithm) • Note: Using a key pad, the user is able to add or delete items from his/her list on the fly Client Environment • Server • Functionality: • Synchronize shopping list with client device • Synchronize client device with store database • Hardware • General Purpose PC • Docking Station for the PDA • Software • Microsoft Windows XP • Sybase SQL Anywhere • Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5 Software Development • RFID Kiosks Placed on corner of every Aisle Embedded RFID Tag Provides a tactile object for the user Current Publications The Research efforts have resulted in the following publications: Conference / Journal Papers eyeHelp: A Navigational Shopping Assistant for the Blind Undergraduate Conference, April 27, 2007 Publications Eye-Opening Technology UMass Magazine, Spring 2007 By Charles Creekmore Current and Planned Industrial Collaboration We are currently working with Carole Wilson to properly evaluate our system from the user perspective Through the facilitation of Susan Worgaftik at UMass we are hoping to develop a partnership with the Big Y in Hadley, MA in order to obtain an adequate site for additional testing. • Future Work • Phase 1 Testing at UMass • Refining Phase 2 implementation based on user feedback from Phase 1 • Development of custom routing algorithm for Phase 3 • Testing on site (e.g. Big Y) to ensure real life proof of concept • Web interface to enable shopping list creation by user • Integrate with product based RFID This work is supported in part alumnus James M. Smith '67, and the Dean's Fund for Undergraduate Research in Engineering established in honor of Joseph I. and Barbara H. Goldstein. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors. µ