Portable, wearable, multi-sensor, low-power spatial-exploration and obstacle-detection systems will be created for all-weather conditions.
“It will be used for real-time, 3D detection, location and warning of obstacles under all environmental conditions,” said French research lab Leti. “These include smoke, dust, fog, heavy rain, snow and darkness, and in indoor and outdoor environments with unknown stationary and mobile obstacles.”
There are 9 partners involved in the three-year project including:
-
Cork Institute of Technology from Ireland
Tyndall National Institute University College Cork from Ireland
STMicroelectronics SRL from Italy
Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology CSEM from Switzerland
University of Namur ASBL from Belgium
GoSense from France
University of Manchester from United Kingdom
The project called INSPEX, which will focus on miniaturizing and optimizing the power consumption of the sensors. They will then be integrated with an inertial measurement unit, environmental sensing, wireless communications, signal processing, data processing, data fusion and a user interface designed to operate within wider smart and IoT environments.
The main project demonstrator will be a white cane for the blind and provide 3D spatial audio feedback on obstacle location through an augmented reality audio interface through extra-auricular earphones.
“This feedback will take into account head attitude, tracked by the headset, to provide 3D spatial sound feedback of an obstacle’s real direction and range,” said Leti. “The context-aware communications will integrate the user with wider smart environments such as smart traffic lights, navigation beacons and ID tags associated with IoT objects. The user’s mobile device will allow integration with mapping apps.”
