Indoor navigation is a challenging activity for persons with disabilities, particularly, for those with low vision and visual impairment. Researchers have explored numerous solutions to resolve these challenges; however, several issues remain unsolved, particularly around providing dynamic and contextual information about potential obstacles in indoor environments. In this paper, we developed Robot Patrol, an integrated system that employs a combination of crowdsourcing, computer vision, and robotic frameworks to provide contextual information to the visually impaired to empower them to navigate indoor spaces safely. In particular, the system is designed to provide information to the visually impaired about 1) potential obstacles on the route to their indoor destination, 2) information about indoor events on their route which they may wish to avoid or attend, and 3) any other contextual information that might support them to navigate to their indoor destinations safely and effectively. Findings from the Wizard of Oz experiment of our demo system provide insights into the benefits and limitations of the system. We provide a concise discussion on the implications of our findings.

翻译：室内导航对残障人士，特别是低视力及视障人士而言是一项具有挑战性的活动。研究人员已探索多种解决方案来应对这些挑战，但仍有若干问题尚未解决，尤其是在提供关于室内环境中潜在障碍物的动态情境信息方面。本文开发了Robot Patrol，这是一个集成系统，结合众包、计算机视觉和机器人框架，为视障人士提供情境信息，使其能够安全地在室内空间导航。具体而言，该系统旨在为视障人士提供以下信息：1）前往室内目的地的路线上潜在障碍物的信息；2）路线上可能希望避开或参加的室内活动信息；以及3）任何其他可能支持其安全有效地导航至室内目的地的情境信息。通过对我们演示系统进行的“巫师”实验，得出了关于该系统优势与局限性的见解。我们基于研究发现的意义进行了简要讨论。