Orientacart: Assistive Navigation Cart for the Visually Impaired Using RFID and Line Following
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT- The increasing demand for inclusive retail environments has highlighted the navigation challenges faced by visually impaired individuals in large supermarkets and shopping complexes. Existing smart-cart systems primarily focus on automated billing, product identification, or retail analytics, while neglecting mobility accessibility. This paper presents OrientaCart, a low-cost assistive following, radio-frequency identification (RFID) junction routing, and ultrasonic obstacle detection under an ESP32 controller. User commands are received via a Bluetooth-based Android application, and auditory guidance is provided by a DFPlayer Mini MP3 module that plays pre-recorded prompts through a 3 W speaker. The prototype was validated on a 10 m indoor track with four junction tags at a constant speed of 0.30 m/s, achieving 95% RFID tag-read accuracy and a mean obstacle-stop latency of 0.5 s. Compared with prior smart carts and mobile robots, OrientaCart offers an accessibility-first design, predictable behavior without camera-based perception, and a commercial bill of materials (BOM) below ₹6,500. The proposed hybrid protocol demonstrates that reliable assistive navigation can be achieved using embedded sensing and event-driven control, supporting scalable deployment in supermarkets and malls. Index Terms—RFID, Assistive Navigation, Line Following Robot, Ultrasonic Obstacle Detection, ESP32, Inclusive Retail, Indoor Localization
DOI: 10.55041/ijsrem54682
Authors: VASANTH KUMAR REDDY G, ANURAG P SHIRODKAR, ANAND M VERNEKAR, KARTHIK P, MOHAN V
Subfield: Occupational Therapy
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4416816516
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