Marko

Inspiration

We wanted to improve the lives and increase the independence of people with visual or mental impairments, as well as improve care-givers' abilities to monitor patients. We specifically see applications of this in Dementia and Alzheimer's patients, as well as those with visual impairments.

What it does

Marko is a system of visual markers and an Android app. A care-giver can place beacons in important areas and attribute location and area descriptions to each markers. A cell phone carried by the user will constantly search for beacons and audibly notify the user when one is in range, informing them where they are, a description of their surroundings, and use orientation information from the compass and visually from the marker to give information about what other important landmarks are nearby. In addition, if the user passes a marker leading into a dangerous location (for example an Electrical Room), the app will give a phone call to the care-giver.

How We built it

We used OpenCV and Aruco Markers to handle the beacon capture system. The analysis was written in Java and the entire thing was packaged in an Android app.

Challenges We ran into

We had a lot of trouble incorporating the Aruco analysis code in OpenCV into our Android App. We also struggled with getting the compass to work properly (for orientation) inside Siebel.

Accomplishments that We're proud of

We're glad we were able to build a robust central system that can be modified and built upon easily in the future. We hope our project will have a lasting impact on the care given to people with disabilities.