Radio Frequency Identification System

Bus identification system for the blind using Radio frequency identification technique Arathi Chandrasekar, Member, IEEE Abstract—This paper proposes a bus system design based on Radio Frequency Identification Technique (RFID) for the visually impaired. This system consists of an RFID is a technology that uses radio waves to automatically locate objects using a unique identification number attached to it. In developing countries, the blind face a lot of difficulties while commuting using the public transport bus. The proposed system attempts to provide a solution that makes use of an RFID tag attached to each bus, which will be read by an RFID reader. This is processed in the microcontroller , which announces through the speaker about

MOTIVATION

This paper speaks about a bus detection mechanism for the blind in travelling from one place to another. In order to get transportation independently, the blind use auditory touched clues like walking stick or white cane. The limitation of the walking stick is that a blind person must come into close proximity with their surroundings to determine the location of an obstacle. For that basis, various devices have been developed such as the Sonic guide, the Mowat sensor, the Laser cane and the Navbelt. However, these devices can only assist the blind at a pedestrian crossing. Importance of Public transport :

Public transport is the only viable mobility option for the most of the visually challenged in our country.

87% of the visually challenged individuals live in developing countries where no other viable option exists.

Reliable access to public transport is a precursor for seeking education, employment, social integration Fig 2 2

The need arises due to the following reasons :

1) In the bus transport system the route number is only displayed on the number plate.

A visually challenged person has to rely on sighted assistance

2) Difficulty during non-office hours and at less-frequently used bus

In addition, handheld RFID reader and high frequency tags placed at bus stops and on the busses enables the user to scan the tag to determine the bus routes and destinations and when the bus is arriving. There has been promising research into RFID to aid the blind for outdoor navigation. While GPS has been tried in the past to make getting around cities and towns easier, this has not been very effective because of the lack of accuracy and a slow response time. A paper titled ‘RFID Navigation System for the visually Impaired’ by Punit Dharani (2012) is quoted as