Textile guidance systems for the blind with RFID-based navigation
13.02.2025
Oberhaching, February 2025
The TFI - Institut für Boden- und Raumsysteme an der RWTH Aachen e.V. stands for research, certification and qualification of textile building products. The research projects enable manufacturers of textile construction and furnishing products to produce responsibly and sustainably - for the living and working of tomorrow.
The ModuLeiT project
The ModuLeiT project focuses on the development of a design guideline for modular, haptic and optical floor indicators as a guidance and information system. RFID transponders, integrated into textile floor coverings, serve as a navigation system for the orientation of visually impaired people indoors
To this end, requirement profiles for the guidance system were developed in collaboration with visually impaired people and companies from the project committee. Smart-TEC GmbH supplied the RFID technology and provided expert advice. On this basis, floor indicators were developed for indoor use, based on tufting technology*, which offers a wide range of texture and color pattern options.
For a wide range of applications, the three-dimensional textile floor indicators consist of modular carpet tiles that can be detected with a cane. RFID transponders were integrated into the carpet tiles for the navigation system, which can be read with the developed electronic cane.
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 measures 100 mm x 100 mm.
The system is linked to the BIM building information model via an interface. On this basis, a navigation app was developed that can navigate through the building in real time without barriers by displaying the information on mobile devices.
In this context, design guidelines, requirements and tests for the practical suitability of the system were developed and then validated with a demonstrator through a practical test with visually impaired people.
"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 combination of analog and digital technologies:
- Floor indicators made of textile materials provide 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 interaction enables barrier-free, more precise building navigation, in which environmental information can also be conveyed audibly.
Social added value:
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 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 based on 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