Overview

The Name

MOVIS is an acronym for ``Mobil Optoelectronic Visual Interpretative System for the blind and visually impaired'' and for an acronym a surprisingly accurate description of what MOVIS is and does. It is a portable (i.e. mobil) system intended as an aid for blind and visually impaired users. It consists of two cameras on a spectacle-like device, connected to a computer (i.e. optoelectronic). It works by interpreting the visual environment and informing the user about selected objects or classes of objects.

The Explanation

You can think of MOVIS as something like an electronic guide dog. A dog who can read and who will talk to you. You can ask it ``Where is the next zebra-crossing'' (by pressing a button), and it will look out for a zebra-crossing and inform you about distance and direction once it has found one. Or you can ask for the next bus-stop, mail-box, or public phone. You can even ask it to read the number of the approaching bus to you, or a street-sign. Or you can tell it: ``look at this, this is XXXX'' and have it recognise XXXX the next time you pass by.

The Reality

Unfortunately, much of this isn't reality yet. MOVIS, started in 1994, was originally intended as a 9-year project (three 3-year intervals) funded by the German Ministry of Science and Technology (BMBF). The aim of the first 3-year period (1994-1997) was a laboratory prototype of a spectacle-like device together with some algorithms which could be used as a `proof of concept'. The aim of the second 3-year period were a couple of completely portable prototypes with enough functionality to be used and evaluated by blind persons outside the laboratory. The aim of the last 3-year period was the development of this technology into a product.

Unfortunately funding for all vision-related projects was cut in 1997, so that very little work is currently done. What exists are:

  1. A laboratory hardware prototype.
  2. Software for the recognition of zebra-crossings (stable).
  3. Software for the recognition of public phones and letter-boxes (working prototype).
  4. Software for the recognition of selected traffic-signs: bus-stop, taxi rank, zebra-crossing, public-phone (prototype).
  5. Software for the recognition of arbitrary views (prototype).

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last modified: 21-Jun-2005
Sven Utcke