2013 Interational Conference on Circuits, Power and Computing Technologies [ICCPCT-2013]

Passenger BUS Alert System for Easy

Navigation of Blind
G.Lavanya ME,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College,
Coimbatore
Email id:lavanyagangadharan@gmail.com.
5IrucI: Talking signs, guide cane, echolocations are all useful in
navigating the visually challenged people to reach their
destination, but the main objective is not reached that it fails to
join them with trafc. In this project we propose a bus system
using wireless sensor networks (SNs).The blind people in the
bus station is provided with a ZigBee unit which is recognized by
the ZigBee in the bus and the indication is made in the bus that
the blind people is present in the station. So the bus stops at the
particular station. The desired bus that the blind want to take is
notifed to him with the help of speech recognition system
HM2007. The blind gives the input about the place he has to
reach using microphones and the voice recognition system
recognizes it .The input is then analyzed by the microcontroller
which generates the bus numbers corresponding to the location
provided by the blind. These bus numbers are converted into
audio output using the voice synthesizer APR 9600. The ZigBee
transceiver in the bus sends the bus number to the transceiver
with the blind and the bus number is announced to the blind
through the headphones. The blind takes the right bus parked in
front of him and when the destination is reached it is announced
by means of the GPS-634R which is connected with the controller
and voice synthesizer which produces the audio output. This
project is also aimed at helping the elder people for independent
navigation.
c)0rJ5: Wireless sensor networks, Speech Recognition System,
Voice Synthesizer, GPS, Zigbee.
. ^1HID1I11I^
Out the 6.7 billion people that populate the world,
161 million are visually impaired. Each visually impaired
individual faces different challenges based on their specifc
level of vision. With the rise of various support-based
organizations, more visually impaired people have been given
the opportunity to education and many other means. But still
the issues of navigation for the blind are very complex and
troublesome especially when they walked down in street and
also navigate to distant places by public transport system. For
a visually impaired person, doing things such as reading trafc
signals and street signs can be extremely challenging, if not it
is impossible to do.
In order to overcome these challenges, a visually impaired
person might use walking cane, guide dog, and sighted guide.
978-1-4673-4922-2113/$31.00 20 13 IEEE 798
Preethy. W*, Shameem.A *, Sushmitha.R*
IVyear, Biomedical Engineering,
Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College,
Coimbatore
shameem. ikon@gmail.com
These alteratives also called as asslstlve devices can be
helpfl to the blind but not so effective. The sighted guide can
be immensely effective, as well provide social comfort, but it
restricts the independence of the blind individual. Guide dogs
and walking canes allow for a more independent means of
travelling, but they are limited in unfamiliar environments.
RFID is feasible and cost effective but it is more suitable for
indoor communication only. Also it provides only one way
communication and a very short range of identifcation. A
system with an augmented walking cane, a pair of augmented
glasses and identifable items tagged with semacode/data
matrix tags is used for outdoor navigation of blind people. If a
man has to take the bus, he walks along the pavement and his
walking cane recognizes a tag. But the image quality of the
web camera is fairly poor. Tag recognition in darkness or in
bad lightning conditions might be a problem. Another issue is
that camera needs a visual, so if a tag is hidden behind a
person or another object, then the camera cannot detect it.
Tags on all environments will properly contaminate the
environment and meet resistance fom many citizens.
To overcome the drawbacks of currently available
assistive devices, we propose a Wireles sensor network system
with ZigBee for blind identifcation by the bus and embedded
system for providing the bus number and [mally GPS for
destination indication. Wireless sensor network (WSNs)
consists of sensors that continuously monitors the
environmental conditions and send their data to the main
network ''. ZigBee is an embedded device for use in a WSN
which is tiny in size. These nodes have processing and
computational capability and generally consist of an RF
transceiver, memory, on board sensors/actuators and a power
source ''. ZigBee have CC2420 which is a true single-chip 2.4
GHz IEEE 802.15.4 compliant RF (Radio Frequency)
transceiver designed for low-power and low-voltage wireless
applications so we can send or receive usefl information
through using this chip. The number of the bus parked in font
of the blind is send to the ZigBee in the blind system. Another
fnction of ZigBee is identifcation of blind in the bus station.
If both the numbers match the buzzer in the bus unit alarms
and indicates the driver that there is blind in the bus station.
2013 Interational Conference on Circuits, Power and Computing Technologies [ICCPCT-2013]
The sofware part is Embedded C with MPLAB IDE
(Operating System) for programming the controller. MPLAB
IDE runs as a 32-bit application on MS Windows, is easy to
use and includes a host of fee sofware components for fast
application development and super-charged debugging.
MPLAB IDE also serves as a single, unifed graphical user
interface for additional Microchip and third party sofware and
hardware development tools.
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A. Voice Recognition Unit
Speech recognition system is used to help the blind to
know the particular buses for a given location. When the blind
speaks through the microphone, the speech recognition system
analyze the input which is then processed by the
microcontroller, and then produces the required output in the
audio format which is heard by the user through the
headphones. The speech recognition system here we use is
HM2007.It is a single chip voice recognition LSI circuit with
on the chip voice analysis, recognition process and system
control functions. It may consist of microphone, keyboard,
RAM and some other components.
The word length select pin is used to control the
length of word we are providing as input. When the pin
WLEN is set high, 1. 92 sec is selected. In this way only 20
words can be recognized. DEN pin is used to enable the data.
When the recognition process is complete the chip will place
its response on the data bus DO -D7 and which can be latched
on to the microcontroller by this pin. When the device is ready
for the voice input in training or recognition mode, a low
signal is sent by the RY pin. If the chip is busy then a high
signal is sent. When the waiting control input pin is set Low,
the chip will enter the waiting state and do not accept the
voice input until the pin is set to High.
There are two modes of operation. During the power
on the chip will start its initialization process. If the wait pin
is Low the chip will do the memory check and if the pin is H
then the chip skips the memory check. Afer the initialization
recognition is done. Ready pin is set low to allow the voice to
be recognized. Once the voice input is detected the ready pin
is set high and recognition begins. We should train the word
patter before the beginning of the recognition process. Afer
the process is completed the result will appear on the D-bus
with the activation of DEN pin.
To train or clear a voice patter, we must select the
word number to process frst. The number of word is
composed of two digits. The digits are entered one digit at a
time through keypad. When number key is pressed, the
number of key will be echoed to the D-bus. When the word
number is entered press the fnction key to choose the
operation fnction. If the fnction key CLR is pressed the
word patter is cleared. If the function key TRN is pressed
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training process begins. To clear the entire patters key 99 is
entered and clear is pressed.
B. Voice Synthesizer System
APR9600 device offers true single-chip voice
recording, non-volatile storage and playback capability for
40 to 60 seconds. The voice synthesizer is used to generate
speech signal output of the bus number and the current
destination of the blind people. The voice synthesizer is
connected to the microcontroller. Microcontroller accepts
input fom voice recognition system and GPS. The device
supports both random and sequential access of multiple
messages. Each memory cell can store 256 voltage levels.
This technology enables the APR9600 device to
reproduce voice signals in their natural form. It eliminates
the need for encoding and compression, which ofen
introduce distortion. Storage is accomplished through a
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Bus unit consists of a ZigBee transceiver with a
microcontroller which helps to fnd the availability of blind in the
bus station and displays it. The blind unit is a mobile unit carried
by the blind people which consists of ZigBee unit for identifying
the corresponding bus parked in front of them, Speech
2013 Interational Conference on Circuits, Power and Computing Technologies [ICCPCT-2013]
recognition system for identifying the location provided as voice
input by the user and the microcontroller for analyzing the input
and providing the corresponding bus number of the location
specifed by the blind as audio output through voice synthesizer.
Input is given through microphone and output is heard by the
blind through the headset.
combination of the Sample and Hold circuit and the Analog
WritelRead circuit. These circuits are clocked by either the
Interal Oscillator or an external clock source. When
playback is desired the previously stored recording is
retrieved fom memory, low pass fltered and amplifed.
The signal can be heard by connecting a speaker to the SP+
and SP- pins.
Random access mode supports 2, 4, or 8 messages
segments of fxed duration. Record or playback can be
made randomly in any of the selected messages. The length
of each message segment is the total recording length
available (as defned by the selected sampling rate)
divided by the total number of segments enabled. The bus
number and the destination which is recorded are played back
in this mode.
On power up, the device is ready to record or
play back, in any of the enabled message segments. To
record, ICE must be set low to enable the device and IRE
must be set low to enable recordi ng. We recording by
applying a low level on the message tigger pin that
represents the message segment we intend to use. To
playback, I CE must be set low to enable the device and
IRE must be set high to disable recording enable
playback. You initiate play- back by applying a high to
low edge on the message trigger pin that representing the
message segment you intend to playback. Playback will
continue until the end of the message is reached. If a
high to low edge occurs on the message trigger pin
during playback, playback of the current message stops
immediately.
The IBusy pin when low indicates to the host
processor that the device is busy and that no commands can
be currently accepted. When this pin is high the device is
ready to accept and execute commands fom the host. The
IStrobe pin pulses low each time a memory segment is
used. Counting pulses on this pin enables the host
processor to accurately determine how much recording
time has been used, and how much recording time
remains. The APR 9 6 0 0 has a total of eighty memory
segments. The IM7 _END pin is used as an indicator that the
device has stopped its current record or playback operation.
During recording a low going pulse indicates that all
memory has been used. During playback a low pulse
indicates that the last message has played.
C. PIC Microcontroller
PIC is a family of Harvard architecture
microcontrollers made by Microchip Technology, derived
fom the PIC16F887 originally developed by General
800
Instrument's Microelectronics Division. The name PIC
initially refered to "Peripheral Interface Controller". In our
system two controllers are used. One in the bus unit and other
in the blind unit. Microcontroller is connected to the level
converter, speech recognition system, GPS and voice
synthesizer. LCD display is connected to the output of
controller in bus unit. The coding is done using embedded C
language and Hi-tech C compiler. The output of the
microcontroller is connected to the voice synthesizer in blind
unit. The output of speech recognition system, GPS and level
converter is connected to the input ports of microcontroller.
D. Finding the destination
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space
based radio navigation system that provides reliable
positioning, navigation, and timing services to civilian users
on a continuous worldwide basis. GPS receiver will provide
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location and time. It receives the latitude and longitude values
fom the satellite. GPS based blind man device with user input
2013 Interational Conference on Circuits, Power and Computing Technologies [ICCPCT-2013]
interfacing (voice based) intellectually fnds the current
location and gives the alert to the blind man if it was his
destination area. The system designed consists of a GPS
receiver and a voice circuit which is interfaced to the
microcontroller
1)|
. The microcontroller is programmed in
such a way that depending on the satellite information of
location the predefned location name will be announced.
Three satellites are enough to solve for position, since space
has three dimensions. However a very small clock error
mUltiplied by the very large speed of light the speed at which
satellite signals propagate results in a large positional error.
The receiver uses a fourth satellite to solve for 7 y, z, and t
which is used to corect the receiver's clock.
Microcontroller is the heart of the device. It stores the
data of the current location which it receives fom
the GPS system, so that it can make use of the data stored to
compare with the destination location of the user. By this it
can trace out the distance fom the destination and produce an
alarm to alert the user in advance. This device is designed
to provide a voice based announcement for the user, i.e.,
the user gets the voice which pronounces his destination
location. GPS-634R is a highly integrated smart GPS module
with a ceramic GPS patch antenna. The antenna is connected
to the module via an LNA. It is capable of receiving signals
fom up to 65 GPS satellites and transferring them into the
precise position and timing information that can be read over
either UART port or RS232 serial port.
E. Transmission Unit
ZigBee is wireless technology developed by IEEE
802.15.4 - 2003 standard for low cost, low power, wireless
sensor networks that is used for Low-Rate Wireless Personal
Area Network (LR- WPANs). The standard takes fll
advantage of IEEE 802.15.4 physical radio specifcation that
requires a low data rate, long battery life and secure
networking. ZigBee is present with the blind people and in the
bus which is the used instead of RFID
)|
. The ZigBee with the
blind recognizes the bus which is few meter distance away
fom blind and gives intimation to the blind who is carrying it.
The intimation is given through the headphones. The ZigBee
in bus receives the signal fom blind people and stops in bus
station. If the blind gets the required bus, he gets into bus or
else he waits for the bus which he desires to get into to reach
his destination. The advantage over of ZigBee over RFID is
that it is less cost than RFID tag and RFID reader
}|
.
Secondly, it has two-way communication that is to send and
receive signal at higher speed without interfering other signals
like radio waves.
. 1S111SA^DD1SI1SS1I^
When the person reaches the bus station, he can
fnd the buses that pass through a particular location with the
help of voice recognition system and voice synthesizer.
801
When the bus approaches the bus station, there is an
indication in the bus by the beep sound of a buzzer that there
is a blind person available in the bus station.
This is achieved with the help of ZigBee unit both in the bus
unit and blind unit. Finally when the bus reaches the station
the bus number is announced to the blind through headphones.
There are currently available systems for the outdoor
navigation but they will not assist in travelling to unfamiliar
areas. Some systems use PDA which is not so economic and
cannot be afforded by all. In most of the systems RFID tags
are used which are required in 1000s of numbers for tracking
of route. Also it provides only one way communication. The
system we use is a mobile unit, weightless and economically
feasible.
N. LI^I11S1I^
Primarily, the blind person in the bus station is identifed
with RF communication. The blind informs the location he
needs through the microphone which is given to the voice
recognition system which produces the output of bus numbers
in the voice synthesizer unit which is heard in headset. Then
this location is transmitted to the transceiver in the bus. If the
names in the transceiver in the bus matches with that of the
name send by the blind, then there is an alarm in the bus unit
alerting the presence of blind and a voice to the user's headset
that the particular bus has arived. With the help of GPS
tracker connected with audio output the destination chosen by
the blind is intimated when the bus reaches the correct
location. PDA's can be used for GPS tracking but it is not cost
effective.
111H1^I1S
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