ITS navigation and live timetables for the blind based on RFID robotic localization algorithms and ZigBee broadcasting

This paper tries to alleviate some challenges facing blind and visually impaired people in public transportation systems by providing them with in-station navigation information and real-time schedule information. Novel system architecture for the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) navigation for blind and visually impaired people based on recent Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) localization technologies, commonly used in robotics, is proposed. Furthermore, a live timetable using a new ZigBee network broadcasting protocol with detailed frame structure is used for provision of real-time schedule information. The elements of the proposed system and their functionality are detailed while the presented experimental results demonstrate the potential of proposed system. © 2013 IEEE.