Scene representation for mobility of the visually impaired
pp. 283-310
in: Edwige Pissaloux (ed), Mobility of visually impaired people, Berlin, Springer, 2018Abstract
As mobility is significantly correlated with autonomy and quality of life, a vast majority of the developed approaches and devices dedicated to visually impaired individuals attempts to augment or support orientation and mobility abilities and maximize independence and safety. Therefore, various methods and technical solutions have been proposed for generating a representation of the visual scene and transmitting this information to the user. As different visual impairments can be distinguished, from congenital blindness to low vision , dedicated solutions have been put forward to accommodate these different needs and abilities. These solutions may be used universally or take advantage of the specificity of the visual impairment (e.g., low vision, late blindness). Through the presentation of sensory supplementation , technical aids and visual neuro-prostheses studies, we will explore the approaches and technical solutions that have been proposed or are still in development. Additionally, we will provide some general recommendations regarding scene representation design and discuss the benefits of providing specialized information dedicated to mobility as opposed to a general purpose representation.