The electromagnetic technology for safe mobility of visually impaired people

The aim of this paper is to present a survey of the activities carried out by the University Politecnica delle Marche concerning the safe mobility of visually impaired people in order to involve the control and automation community and present some hints for discussion. For this purpose, this contribution reports and discusses the use of electromagnetic (EM) systems as assistive technologies for mobility tasks of blind subjects also highlighting their advantages with respect to existing traditional electronic travel aids, in terms of performances, miniaturization, and wear ability. In particular, two applications of EM technologies will be discussed more in detail: a first example consists in the design and realization of a laboratory prototype of an EM sensor, able to detect the presence of obstacles, aimed to help visually impaired users during mobility tasks, possibly allowing them to walk safely and independently. The second example is the theoretical and experimental study of feasibility of an EM system, specifically addressed to visually impaired runners. Finally, some clues for discussion will be presented; the user interaction with the sensing system, the signal analysis and possible features extraction will be reviewed addressing issues requiring a multidisciplinary approach.