SMARTGUIDE: Revolutionizing the Depth and Dependability of Vision-Impaired Navigation

Globally, over 2.2 billion people face vision impairment, necessitating innovative solutions for safe, independent navigation. Traditional aids like canes, guide dogs, and GPS offer basic support but lack the sophistication to provide contextual understanding, precise navigation, or real-time hazard alerts. This project presents SmartGuide, a mobile app designed to enhance the independence of visually impaired users through AI-driven features. SmartGuide offers three main functions: (1) Smart Vision, using the GPT-4 Vision API to deliver spoken feedback about surroundings; (2) Navigation, combining QR code detection via YOLO with ZoeDepth for depth estimation, guiding users to destinations through the shortest path calculated by Dijkstra's algorithm; and (3) Obstacle Detection and Alerts, where YOLO identifies obstacles, and ZoeDepth estimates their distance to inform users of potential hazards. By adapting its responses based on user feedback, SmartGuide provides personalized, reliable guidance that empowers visually impaired individuals to navigate with confidence and safety, advancing the field of accessible technology.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Computer Science & Applications

Department dc:contributor.department

Computer Science and#38; Applications

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Gandham, Rishith

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Meng, Na

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Gipe, Andrew
• Borunda, Luis
• Brown, Dwayne Christian

• Indoor Navigation
• Visually Impaired
• Computer Vision

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:42232

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/123896