A Survey of 17 Indoor Travel Assistance Systems for Blind and Visually Impaired People

Not only has information technology evolved rapidly, but the spatial cognition theory for blind and visually impaired (BVI) people has also made great strides, which has opened up a new opportunity for indoor travel assistance systems (ITASs). However, there are still some issues that have not been effectively addressed due to the lack of guidance of the spatial cognition theory. Thus, this article presents a comparative survey among ITASs proposed in the last four years in an effort to inform researchers and developers about system problems and challenges and inform BVI people about the various types and functions of the ITAS. This article will also make researchers and developers aware of the importance of the spatial cognition theory. Furthermore, we give predictions for future trends based on a detailed analysis of 17 ITASs.