KR20000036392A - GPS and PCS based Walk-Guidance System for Sight Impaired Persons - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A system for assisting a walk of a visually disabled person using a cellular phone and global positioning system(GPS) is provided to offer the person the voice information related to a direction, path, facilities of a destination place, by detecting a current location of the person using a communication between the cellular phone and GPS, and generating a walk guide voice for the destination place. CONSTITUTION: A GPS part detects location information via a GPS antenna. A controller controls each part of the system. A data communication part for a personal communication service(PCS) transmits the received location information. A main center receives the location information of the visually disabled person. A GPS part for the main center corrects a location error. A data communication part receives the current location of the person. An electronic map part includes a move path to the destination place, and information on the facilities around the move path. A voice output part provides walk information. A CPU calculates a coordinate of the electronic map corresponding to the location of the person, and generates the walk information.

Description

Gait Assistance System for the Visually Impaired Using Location Tracking System and Mobile Phone {GPS and PCS based Walk-Guidance System for Sight Impaired Persons}

The present invention is a pedestrian assistance system that provides a voice guide of a moving route, a moving direction, and a location of surrounding buildings when a visually impaired person moves to a destination to which he / she wants to go. And map matching techniques.

Currently, there are subsidiary blocks made of irregularities or auxiliary blocks made of rubber materials in public offices, subway stations, and certain buildings for the purpose of inducing the blind. However, the place where the sidewalk block can be installed is limited, and simply tells only the path to be safely moved, the exact location or direction information is unknown.

Accordingly, Korean Patent Application No. 99-40225 developed a blind road guidance safety assistant using the self-painted sidewalk block and the self-painting detection device installed at the end of the cane to alert the safety zone. There is a disadvantage to install a sidewalk block with magnetic properties in place.

In addition, Korean Patent Application No. 94-5717 has developed a blind road guide device that emits an ultrasonic signal to the front to sense the presence or absence of obstacles in the front distance (2m) and short distance (1m). There is a flaw that warns you of obstacles and doesn't tell you where you want to go.

In addition, the existing pedestrian induction technology provides only local information and cannot provide overall information such as providing a direction for a destination. Thus, until now, visually impaired people absolutely needed the help of people around them or guide dogs.

An object of the present invention for solving the above drawbacks is to provide a GPS technology necessary for a wide range of location detection that can provide information on the movement route, current location information, and surrounding facilities without limiting the place where the service can be provided The present invention provides a wireless data transmission technology using a PCS phone and a method thereof.

In the present penalty, it should have location detection function and data communication function without limitation of place and should be able to provide walking assistance information through voice in portable form. If it is possible to install only in certain places, such as uneven sidewalk block, it is difficult to guide the visually impaired walking because of limited service area.

In addition, the existing service simply provides information on passageways that can be safely moved, and does not provide information on the current location, surrounding information, or direction to be moved. Therefore, in order to solve these problems, the development of location detection method and data communication method without limitation of place is very important factor.

1 is a block diagram of a walking assistance system using a GPS and PCS phone according to the present invention

Figure 2 is a PCS phone and PCS data communication kit connection form

Figure 3 is a GPS device for tracking the location of the visually impaired

4 is a system configuration diagram connecting GPS, PCS, and terminal equipment

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

1: pedestrian guidance map information storing local information data

2: Server computer for central center

3: Data communication modem for transmitting and receiving location information and voice information

4: GPS receiver for location tracking

5: Traffic information transmission and reception using public telephone network

6: Portable PCS Phone

7: Data Communication Kit for PCS

8: Central control module in walking guidance system

9: GPS receiver attached to the terminal

S1: 29C252 ROM

S2: 74HC573 LATCH

S3: CLOCK SPLIT CHIP

S4: 8251 for COM2 port

S5: RS232C

S6: 16Mhz CLOCK

S7: 80C196KC CPU

S8: 20V8 GAL

The system is divided into a terminal unit for the visually impaired and a central center for providing walking information. The portable terminal device includes: a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit for detecting location information through a GPS antenna; A central processing unit for controlling the entire system; PCS data communication unit for transmitting the received location information. The central center includes a GPS unit for receiving the visually impaired location information and correcting the location error; A data communication unit for receiving current location information of the visually impaired; Electronic map unit including movement route and facility information; A voice output unit for providing walking information; And a central processor configured to generate and control information by calculating position coordinates in the electronic map data on the location information of the visually impaired.

GPS of the terminal device outputs the current location information of the visually impaired by 1Hz, RS232C. After 2 minutes of initialization with stationary error correction information transmitted from the center, 1 ~ 5M position error accuracy is displayed.

The central processing unit of the terminal device consists of 80C196KC, a microcontroller, 29C256 ROM that stores execution programs, and MAX232, an RS232C controller. The central processing unit opens the serial port connected with GPS in the form of 9600Baudrate, 1StopBits, No-Parity, and the serial port connected to the PCS data modem in 19200Baudrate, 1StopBits, No-Parity. Next, the modem initialization command is output to the serial port connected to the PCS data modem, and the GPS initialization command is output to the serial port connected to the GPS. When the PCS modem is initialized, it calls the central center and sends and receives data when the telephone connection is established.

The PCS data communication unit connected to the terminal device consists of a general PCS phone and a PCS dedicated data communication cable modem. The PCS datacommunication cable modem can use either a car cigar jack charger or a PCS phone battery.

The GPS unit of the central center is installed in the position coordinates surveyed by GPS of the same type used in the terminal device, and analyzes the received information and transmits the GPS error information to the center computer.

The data communication unit of the central center transmits the error correction information of the GPS to the terminal device and receives the location information of the visually impaired when a communication connection is made from the terminal device of the visually impaired using a general 56K modem.

Electronic map unit including movement route and facility information includes safe pedestrian paths around public offices or university campuses, surrounding facilities and intersection location information, and outputs appropriate pedestrian guidance information according to the current location of visually impaired people.

Voice output unit for providing pedestrian information is a form that guides pedestrian guidance information to voice when a visually impaired person makes a call using a general voice modem and transmits voice information during data communication, so that the voice in the terminal device of the visually impaired person is There are two types of guidance to the output device.

The central processing unit for generating and controlling information by calculating position coordinates in the electronic map data on the position information of the visually impaired person converts the position coordinates transmitted from the terminal device into the coordinates of the electronic map stored in the center to determine the current position. It calculates the movement route to the desired specific destination and outputs walking guidance information according to the current position.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail as follows.

GPS, which detects the location information of the visually impaired, receives information such as latitude, longitude, direction, and speed of the current location at a speed of 1 Hz, and transmits the information to the central processing unit of the terminal device using the RS232C method. In the central processing unit of the terminal device composed of 80C196KC, a microcontroller, when the power is turned on, the modem of the central center dials the telephone number to which the modem is connected and attempts one-to-one connection for data communication.

The central center receives the error correction information from the GPS receiver fixed at the correct position when one-to-one data communication is connected, and transmits the GPS error information to the terminal device of the visually impaired. In the pedestrian guidance device for the visually impaired, the position correction information transmitted from the center is transmitted to the GPS receiver to correct the position error and transmit the position information received from the GPS to the center. The central center calculates the current location by converting the location information transmitted from the terminal device to the location coordinates of the stored electronic map. The visually impaired person may turn on the terminal device, input a destination, and walk using voice information guided by the terminal device.

Position detection method using GPS and data communication method using PCS phone have almost no limitations in the area of use, so it is possible to provide pedestrian induction service that is not limited to a specific place for the visually impaired. In other words, the present invention assists the visually impaired to walk safely to the visually impaired by guiding the information on the pedestrian and the surrounding facilities that need to be moved to go to a specific destination, the direction information at the intersection.

Claims (4)

A location tracking method using a GPS location tracking system that can reduce the limitation of the installation location, which is a disadvantage of the existing walking aid in the walking assistance system for the visually impaired; An information transmission method for performing data communication using a data communication modem for PCS phone and a computer of a center to increase portability of a terminal device; A central controller of the terminal device for connecting the GPS and the PCS phone to transmit the position coordinates; An information storage method of storing local information data on a server computer of a central center for the convenience of the visually impaired; Information guide method using the voice output modem to guide the walking guidance information to the general PCS phone;