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Under review2026

From White Canes to Edge AI: A Survey of Assistive Navigation Technologies for Blind and Low-Vision Individuals

Abtin Zandi, Arian Ashrafi, Sarvin Nami, Seyed Sina Neghahban, Amirabbas Entezari, Parsa Abbasian, Ariyan Azami, Parisa Taherzadeh, Bardia Sabbagh Kermani, Roza Ghanjipour, Hamed Farbeh

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Abstract

We systematically review 108 peer-reviewed studies, published between 2008 and 2026, on assistive navigation technologies for blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals. We organize the field into four eras: passive aids, electronic travel aids, deep learning, and edge-native AI. We consolidate the object-detector families used in assistive systems and 13 model-compression strategies for on-device deployment, and we outline open challenges and a roadmap toward user-centered assistive navigation.

Highlights

  • Systematic review of 108 peer-reviewed studies (2008–2026).
  • Four eras of assistive navigation: passive aids → electronic travel aids → deep learning → edge-native AI.
  • Consolidates detector families and 13 compression strategies for running models on-device.
  • Open challenges and a roadmap toward user-centered assistive navigation.

Cite this work

@misc{zandi2026whitecanes,
  title  = {From White Canes to Edge AI: A Survey of Assistive Navigation Technologies for Blind and Low-Vision Individuals},
  author = {Zandi, Abtin and Ashrafi, Arian and Nami, Sarvin and Neghahban, Seyed Sina and Entezari, Amirabbas and Abbasian, Parsa and Azami, Ariyan and Taherzadeh, Parisa and Sabbagh Kermani, Bardia and Ghanjipour, Roza and Farbeh, Hamed},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {Under review}
}