Sachin Pavithran, a visually impaired assistive technology specialist at the Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities, tests our ShopTalk system at Lee's Market Place in Logan, Utah.
ShopTalk is a proof-of-concept wearable system designed to assist visually
impaired shoppers with finding shelved products in grocery stores. The system is based on a simple conceptual formula: Independent Blind Shopping = Verbal Route Directions + Shelf Barcode Scans.
Sachin has selected a product, and is now following a set of verbal instructions generated by the system from the topological map of the supermarket from the entrance to the aisle where that product resides. Sachin is collaborating with his guide dog, Barsto, in executing these verbal route directions.
When Sachin scans any shelf barcode, the system begins to use its database, called the barcode connectivity matrix (BCM). The assumption is that the BCM is automatically built from the store's inventory control system. The database associates each shelf barcode (MSI, not UPC) with several types of information: an aisle number, the side of the aisle, a shelf section number, a shelf number in that shelf section, and a relative position on the shelf. This position is not a 2D coordinate measured in some distance units, but a relative position based on how many products are on the same shelf.
When Sachin scans a shelf barcode, the system can tell him, "You are in aisle 5" or "Move 2 shelves down" or "Scan five barcodes left" or "Walk 10 feet down the aisle" etc. Sachin receives these instructions through a wireless head phone. These instructions help him home in on the target product. Notice how Sachin first finds shelf barcodes by touch and then scans them. After the target MSI barcode is scanned, Sachin can just reach over and get the product. He has successfully found the first product.
The system's hardware consists of a computational unit, an OQO model 01,
a Belkin numeric keypad, a Hand Held Products IT4600 SR wireless barcode
scanner and its base station, and a USB hub that connects all components.
The user wears a small CamelBak backpack to carry the equipment. The numeric keypad is attached by a velcro stip to one of the backpack's shoulder straps.
Two more examples of successful MSI barcode scans are coming up. The shopper has the option of verifying the product with this barcode scanner but none of the visually impaired participants in our experiments chose to do it. They did the verification by touch, smell, or shake.
To qualify for these experiments each participant had to give us evidence of
independent travel: independent walks around the neighborhood and independent use of public transportation.
John Nicholson is following Sachin with the Lufkin wheel, a distance measuring device. We used this wheel to systematically estimate the distance walked by each participant in our experiments with ShopTalk. When Sachin begins to walk again, John will put the wheel down and follow him. We noticed that the more the participants used the system the smaller was the total distance they walked in the store. A key finding was that verbal route directions were sufficient for our sample of independent travelers to navigate this supermarket reliably. The more they used the system, the less they requested verbal route directions. As soon they heard the aisle of a selected product, they would just go there independently.
If this finding generalizes to the entire population of independent visually
impaired travelers, it suggests that verbal route directions may well be sufficient. Perhaps, to better contextualize them, a tactile map of the supermarket can be given to each visually impaired shopper. The important point of ShopTalk is to suggest that the store may not need to be instrumented with any external sensors, such as RFID tags, Wi-Fi routers, IR transmitters, etc.
Video Narration: Vladimir Kulyukin
For more information go to http://digital.cs.usu.edu/~vkulyukin/vkweb/research/accessible_shopping.html
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ShopTalk, Wearable Shopping System for the Blind, at Lee's Market Place in Logan, UT - Trial 2by CsatlUSU1,095 views
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