Project Indroduction
The Michigan State University East Lansing campus consists of 538 buildings spread out over 8.125 square miles. Navigating the campus is a daunting task, even for normallysighted people. The challenge for blind and visuallyimpaired members of the Michigan State community is significantly greater while they are becoming familiar with the campus. Twenty minute class change intervals are inadequate for blind students and the risks of injury to anyone are increased by rushing through unfamiliar locations.
Currently, there are limited accessibility options regarding navigation for visually impaired people at Michigan State. On campus, there are audible crossing signs implemented at most intersections, which provides an audible notification of the street name and when the walk sign is on. In addition, there is a outdoor kiosk on campus containing a button that will assist the visually impaired. There are also handheld audible GPS devices that are designed specifically for the blind, but can cost over $700 and would not work as effectively indoors.
In order to make campus more accessible to the visually impaired, design team 6, along with the Michigan State University Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD), has developed an interactive positioning system using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons. Multiple beacons can be set up around campus that will allow communication with BLE equipped devices such as smartphones or tablets. Using BLE beacons provides a navigation solution at low cost and low power usage. Each beacon will send a signal that can be used to approximate a beacon’s distance from the BLE equipped smartphones within a 50 meter range. Once a device receives the signal, an alert can be triggered to give the user a notification or location information. These beacons can be installed at building entrances and exits, in hallways, and inside rooms to provide a useful positioning system.
A benefit for the users of this positioning system is that the Bluetooth communication systems are already implemented in many smartphones, therefore the user will not have to pay for additional hardware. The user will only have to download an application to interface with the beacons. The application can include accessibility options that would allow navigation of the menus and voice notifications.
The cost of the final design arrived at roughly $10. If the beacons were to be used on campus, the number of beacons needed would vary depending on how many points of interest the RCPD wants. In order to distinguish each building at Michigan State, at least 538 beacons are needed and if each entrance and exit needed differentiation, thousands of beacons would be needed. The large scale deployment of the beacon would lower the overall price of individual beacons since components of the design will cost less in bulk orders.
