1. Helping the Blind to Get through COVID-19: Social Distancing Assistant Using Real-Time Semantic Segmentation on RGB-D Video.
- Author
-
Martinez M, Yang K, Constantinescu A, and Stiefelhagen R
- Subjects
- Acoustics, Adult, Algorithms, Blindness psychology, Color Vision, Computer Systems statistics & numerical data, Coronavirus Infections epidemiology, Equipment Design, Female, Germany epidemiology, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted statistics & numerical data, Male, Physical Distancing, Pneumonia, Viral epidemiology, Robotics, SARS-CoV-2, Semantics, Smart Glasses statistics & numerical data, Visually Impaired Persons rehabilitation, Artificial Intelligence statistics & numerical data, Betacoronavirus, Blindness rehabilitation, COVID-19 prevention & control, Coronavirus Infections prevention & control, Pandemics prevention & control, Pneumonia, Viral prevention & control, Sensory Aids, Wearable Electronic Devices statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
The current COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on our daily lives. Social distancing is one of the measures that has been implemented with the aim of slowing the spread of the disease, but it is difficult for blind people to comply with this. In this paper, we present a system that helps blind people to maintain physical distance to other persons using a combination of RGB and depth cameras. We use a real-time semantic segmentation algorithm on the RGB camera to detect where persons are and use the depth camera to assess the distance to them; then, we provide audio feedback through bone-conducting headphones if a person is closer than 1.5 m. Our system warns the user only if persons are nearby but does not react to non-person objects such as walls, trees or doors; thus, it is not intrusive, and it is possible to use it in combination with other assistive devices. We have tested our prototype system on one blind and four blindfolded persons, and found that the system is precise, easy to use, and amounts to low cognitive load.
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF