Automatic number recognition for bus route information aid for the visually-impaired

In this paper, we propose a number recognition method to quickly and accurately get bus route information for the visually-impaired from natural scenes. We take a boosting approach based on Modified Census Transform (MCT) features, applied with success to number detection. Then, a gradient-based feature extraction algorithm is used to recognize the route number from detected samples. Finally, the recognition result is spoken by the Text-To-Speech (TTS) engine via the speaker embedded in tablet PC so that this information can be used when they take a bus without someone´s help. In the experiment, we evaluate the performance of number detection and recognition in our dataset. We achieve high accuracy in both detection and recognition to provide reliable information of the bus routes.