BleVU
TOOLKITS: PhoneGap, Cordova, Javascript, CSS, HTML, BLE beacons (TI Sensor tag),
KEYWORDS: Indoor Navigation, BLE beacons
COLLABORATORS: Karthik Patanjali
PROJECT INTRODUCTION:
BleVu is an indoor navigation system designed for visually disabled or impaired people. It works with BLE beacons. In sending voice notifications, the system helps its users to understand whether a specific spot (e.g. obstacle, corner, wall, stairs, etc.) is approaching when walking inside a room where BleVu is installed. In our plan, BleVu can be used for large indoor public spaces like libraries, museums and train stations. As its name suggests, BleVu is designed based on the idea that this navigation system can be trusted by people who are disabled or need assistance. It can make public spaces even more accessible to everyone.
We had an opportunity to work with Konstandinos (Gus) Chalkias. Gus is an assistive technology instructor at Baruch College. He has been legally blind due to Retinitis Pigmentosa since he was 28.
We brainstormed with Gus on ideas for how the app should instruct the user and what information would be beneficial. The result was a checkpoint based navigation that would provide right information at the right time, as opposed to triangulating the user's position in an indoor space which is extremely inaccurate with bluetooth.
