Abstract—Numerous walking navigation systems have been developed that convert spatial information into auditory or tactile stimuli for user perception. However, these systems often burden users with the cognitive task of interpreting their environment based on limited sensory input. We propose a novel navigation system that reduces the cognitive load by inducing trunk motion through head direction control. This method focuses on the characteristic of the trunk following the head yaw motion during walking. In this paper, we have fabricated a prototype navigation system consisting of both a head rotation control unit and a sensing unit with a depth camera. Using this system, we investigated the feasibility of the proposed method in actual navigation. First, we confirmed through several experiments that the walking direction changes according to the forced head direction control. This result supports the feasibility of the proposed method. Then, we developed a head control scheme that combines two head control modes to improve the accuracy and stabilization of the direction change. One is a forced rotation mode toward the target direction, and the other is a free rotation mode to align the direction of the head and the trunk. Finally, to verify the feasibility of two-mode control in a real environment, a navigation experiment was conducted to avoid a single obstacle. This experiment confirmed that reliable avoidance guidance was achieved.

Keywords—walking navigation, low cognitive load, visually impaired person, hands-free, head rotation control, obstacle avoidance

Cite: Shinya Kajikawa and Satoshi Koharada, "Low-Cognitive-Load Navigation System for the Visually Impaired Using Head Rotation," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 16-25, 2025. doi: 10.18178/ijmerr.14.1.16-25

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