Textile guidance systems for the blind with RFID
14.02.2025
The TFI - Institut für Boden- und Raumsysteme an der RWTH Aachen e.V. specializes in research, certification and qualification of textile building products. Through its research projects, it supports manufacturers in producing textile construction and furnishing products responsibly and sustainably - for future-oriented living and working.
In the ModuLeiT project, TFI Aachen is developing innovative smart textiles together with the Technical University of Central Hesse (THM) and using RFID technology from smart-TEC.Project ModuLeiT: Innovation for smart textiles
The ModuLeiT project focuses on the development of a design guideline for modular, haptic and optical floor indicators that serve as a guidance and information system. RFID transponders are integrated into textile floor coverings to make it easier for visually impaired people to find their way around indoors.
Specific requirements for the guidance system were developed in close cooperation with visually impaired people and companies from the project committee. Smart-TEC GmbH provided the RFID technology and supported the project with its expertise. Based on these findings, floor indicators were created for indoor use, which were manufactured using tufting technology* and enable a wide variety of texture and color patterns.The three-dimensional textile floor indicators made of modular carpet tiles, which can be detected with a cane, enable a wide range of applications. RFID transponders were integrated into the carpet tiles for the navigation system, which can be read using an electronic cane developed for this purpose.The smart-CARD from smart-TEC is used. The RFID/NFC technology is shrink-wrapped in polyester film, whereby the size, shape, diameter and print can be freely designed. In the case of the ModuLeiT project, three different RFID/NFC chips are integrated into the 0.2 mm thick plastic tag, which in this case measures 100 mm x 100 mm.
The system is connected to the BIM building information model via an interface. On this basis, an accessible navigation app was developed that guides users through the building in real time and provides the relevant information directly on mobile devices. During the development process, design guidelines, requirements and test procedures for the practical suitability of the system were drawn up. These were then validated in a practical test with visually impaired people using a demonstrator.
"In addition to the inclusion of visually impaired people, manufacturers of textile floor coverings, their suppliers and manufacturers of RFID systems all benefit from the project's developments."
Tamara TheilmannM. Sc. from TFI - Institute for Floor and Room Systems at RWTH Aachen University.
Big picture of the relationships between the individual factors for the construction of barrier-free buildings with RFID-based textile floor indicators (source: ModuLeiT research project)
"In an ageing society, accessibility and orientation in buildings are becoming increasingly important. People with limited mobility in particular need more support in order to find their way around safely and independently," emphasizes Prof. Joaquín Díaz from THM.
The special thing about ModuLeiT is the linking of analog and digital technologies:
- Floor indicators made of textile materials offer tactile and visual orientation aids. RFID transponders in the floor coverings provide data to the navigation app.
- The app uses digital twins of buildings that were created using Building Information Modeling (BIM).
This combination ensures barrier-free and precise building navigation, in which environmental information can also be transmitted audibly.
Enormous added value for society:
The research project makes an important contribution to the inclusion and independence of visually impaired people. The aim is to create a system that is easy to implement and scalable - whether in public authorities, museums, universities or shopping centers. Manufacturers of textile floor coverings are to receive guidelines based on the research results in order to integrate barrier-free solutions into their product lines.
The IGF project "Development of a design guideline for modular, haptic and optical floor indicators for guidance systems for the blind and RFID-based navigation systems for interiors based on textile floor coverings (ModuLeiT)" 22683 BG of the research association Forschungskuratorium Textil e.V., Reinhardtstraße 14-16, 10117 Berlin is funded via the DLR as part of the program for the promotion of joint industrial research and development (IGF) by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection on the basis of a resolution of the German Bundestag.
Concept of the indoor guidance system (speech bubble: tufting structure of the floor indicator, loudspeaker symbol: Audio information via cell phone by signal of readout device), (Source: ModuLeiT research project)
*The tufting technique is the most commonly used method for manufacturing carpets worldwide
