Wireless sensor network system helping navigation of the visually impaired

International audienceNavigation aids for the pedestrians are considered new research challenges. The visually impaired are particularly concerned, because of their need to detect and avoid obstacles, as well as to orient themselves in unknown environments. In this paper, we discuss some existing projects in this domain and we propose a novel aid system formed of wireless sensors, meant to help navigation of the visually impaired, which addresses both orientation and obstacle negotiation. The proposed system is GPS-free and does not need external assistance in navigation