A mobile platform includes one or more haptic feedback elements that are positioned in regions of the mobile platform that are proximate to a facial region of a user. By way of example, the haptic feedback elements may be electric force elements that overlay a display. The mobile platform is capable of determining a current location and receiving a desired location, which may be, e.g., a location provided by the user, a location with superior signal strength or of another mobile platform. The mobile platform determines directions from the present location to the current location and translates the direction in to control signals. Haptic signals are produced to the facial region of the user by the haptic feedback elements in response to the control signals, thereby providing the directions to the user.

A system for providing, to a user, navigation directions to a point of interest. The system includes a device having an output unit configured to output the navigation directions to the point of interest. The device is configured to communicate, to an unmanned vehicle, a point of interest identification. The system also includes the unmanned vehicle having a camera configured to detect image data. The unmanned vehicle is configured to determine Whether the point of interest identification is detected from the image data. The unmanned vehicle is also configured to determine a point of interest location when the point of interest identification is detected from the image data. The unmanned vehicle is also configured to determine point of interest navigation data based on the point of interest location. The unmanned vehicle is also configured to communicate, to the device, the point of interest navigation data.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method and an apparatus for providing a visually impaired a route guidance in a subway station by selectively providing the visually impaired at least one of guidance information received from a visible light illumination device installed in the subway station or information on a recommended route from the subway station to a destination and pre-stored route history information, thus informing the visually impaired as needed in a more efficient manner and enabling the visually impaired to arrive at the destination with safety.

A device for providing spatial information to a user. The device includes a camera configured to detect image data. The device also includes an accelerometer configured to determine step data. The device also includes a processor connected to the camera and the accelerometer and configured to determine a distance travelled per step of the user based on the image data and the step data. The processor is also configured to determine a distance to a reference point based on the image data. The processor is also configured to determine a number of steps corresponding to the distance to the reference point based on the distance travelled per step of the user. The device also includes an output unit connected to the processor and configured to output the spatial information indicating the number of steps corresponding to the distance to the reference point.

[Solving Means] A force sense presentation device includes a movable body, an actuator unit, a posture detection unit, a posture detection unit, a signal generation unit, and a control unit. The actuator unit is connected to the movable body. The posture detection unit is configured to detect posture of the force sense presentation device. The signal generation unit is configured to generate a driving signal for generating vibration on the actuator unit, the vibration having within a period at least one of a plurality of different amplitudes and a plurality of different frequencies. The control unit is configured to control the generation of the driving signal by the signal generation unit depending on the detected posture.

Systems and methods are provided for establishing a hands-free communication session between a user and an electronic device. A triggering event for establishing a communication session with the user of a navigation application is detected. The triggering event may include identification, by the electronic device, of information from the data source that is desirable to communicate to the user at the present time. A level of importance of the information is determined, and a notification in accordance with the determined level of importance is generated, the notification having a first property in a first instance and a second property in a second instance. When, after generating the notification, permission from the user to establish the communication session is received, a communication session between the electronic device and the user including voice output by the electronic device and voice input by the user may be established.

Security method for route tracking and route monitoring by means of an electronic device and at least one external receiving device linked to the electronic device, the electronic device being configured to carry out a position determination using one or more location methods, which comprises the following steps: defining an individual reference route by entering the starting point and destination point and adapting the route guidance; defining a security perimeter by entering a maximum distance value; continuously determining the position while following a reference route; continuously calculating the distance of the current position from the reference route; comparing the current distance of the current position from the reference route with the defined maximum distance of the security perimeter; transmitting a signal by means of wireless data transmission to the at least one linked receiving device if the current position is outside the security perimeter; outputting a signal of the linked receiving device.

In a first aspect of the invention, it is claimed a computer-implemented method for assisting the movement of a visually impaired user by means of a wearable device 1, comprising the following steps: S1—Acquiring data from the environment of the visually impaired user S2—Fusing the acquired data, creating, repeatedly updating of a Live Map S3—Determining, repeatedly updating and storing, of at least one navigation path together with associated navigation guiding instructions for the visually impaired user to navigate from the current position of the visually impaired user to a point of interest, repeatedly selecting one preferred navigation path from the at least one navigation path, and repeatedly sending to the visually impaired user the preferred navigation path, together with associated navigation guiding instructions.

A pedestrian navigation system may include at least one vehicle sensor configured to acquire image data of an environment surrounding a vehicle, and a processor programmed to receive the image data, receive a pedestrian location from a user device associated with a pedestrian, determine if the image data indicates presence of an obstruction at the pedestrian location, and transmit instructions to issue an alert via the user device in response to the image data indicating the presence of the obstruction.

Disclosed is a mobility assistance device and method of providing mobility assistance to a user. The device comprises a housing, a sensor arrangement, a tracking means for tracking a position and an orientation of the device, a processing arrangement configured to receive an input relating to a destination of a user of the device, receive the information relating to the environment from the sensor arrangement, compute a three-dimensional model of the environment based on information relating to the environment from the sensor arrangement, receive a current position and a current orientation of the device from the tracking means, determine an optimal route for reaching the destination starting from the current position of the device and compute a sequence of navigational commands for the optimal route, and a force feedback means configured to execute one or more actions to communicate the navigational commands to the user, wherein the one or more actions assist the user in traversing the optimal route. Specifically, the optimal route is determined by a sequence of navigational commands, wherein the navigational command is determined as a combination of directional commands relating to the optimal route, and commands specific to a current environment of the device, and wherein the directional commands are determined using a conventional satellite navigation system, and wherein the mobility assistance device is a handheld device.