Safe walk support system at the station platform by sensor embedded intelligent white cane

Abstract

When visually impaired persons use general traffic facilities, they may face a lot of difficulties. Particularly, the accidents on the station platform may result serious injuries. One of the solutions is to install a platform door, which opens only when a train is at the station. However, the cost for the installation is very expensive. Also, if a different railroad companies use the same station, it usually cannot be installed. In this paper, we propose a safe walk support system at the station platform by sensor embedded intelligent white cane. Two functions will be realized by the intelligent white cane. It tells the direction of the platform even though a person lost a direction. It also senses a color on the ground and tells the position of the train door. We conducted experiments with subjects and confirmed the efficiency of the proposed system.