SonicGlass: An Obstacle Detection and Navigation System Using Smartglass-Based Ultrasonic Sensors.

Enabling continuous obstacle detection and providing real-time navigational assistance for people with visual impairment allows them to navigate in an indoor space without dependence on others. In this paper, we present the design, development, and evaluation of SonicGlass, a wearable obstacle detection and indoor navigation system. SonicGlass consists of a custom 3D printed wearable smartglass that can replace the individual's existing smartglasses. The smartglass is embedded with multiple sensors and microcontrollers. We performed a user study with 10 participants to determine the performance of SonicGlass and observed that SonicGlass could easily guide individuals in an indoor space while detecting obstacles with an F1-score of 84.7% (at 100% precision), and yielded a localization error of 1.35 meters when using a very simplistic regression model. Overall, SonicGlass can be a helpful tool for people with visual impairment to navigate in indoor spaces without assistance.