Leveraging assistive technology for visually impaired people through optimal deep transfer learning based object detection model

Abstract Visual impairment, such as blindness, can have a profound impact on an individual’s cognitive and psychological functioning. Therefore, the use of assistive techniques can help alleviate the adverse effects and enhance the quality of life for people who are blind. Most existing research pri...

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Main Authors: Mahir Mohammed Sharif Adam, Nojood O. Aljehane, Mohammed Yahya Alzahrani, Samah Al Zanin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14946-5
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author Mahir Mohammed Sharif Adam
Nojood O. Aljehane
Mohammed Yahya Alzahrani
Samah Al Zanin
author_facet Mahir Mohammed Sharif Adam
Nojood O. Aljehane
Mohammed Yahya Alzahrani
Samah Al Zanin
author_sort Mahir Mohammed Sharif Adam
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Visual impairment, such as blindness, can have a profound impact on an individual’s cognitive and psychological functioning. Therefore, the use of assistive techniques can help alleviate the adverse effects and enhance the quality of life for people who are blind. Most existing research primarily focuses on mobility, navigation, and object detection, with aesthetics receiving comparatively less attention, despite notable advancements in smart devices and innovative technologies for visually impaired individuals. Object detection is a crucial aspect of computer vision (CV), which involves classifying objects within images, enabling applications such as image retrieval, augmented reality, and many more. In recent times, deep learning (DL) techniques have become a powerful approach for extracting feature representations from data, leading to significant advancements in the field of object detection. In this paper, an enhanced assistive Technology for Blind People through Object Detection Using a Hiking optimization algorithm (EATBP-ODHOA) technique is proposed. The primary objective of the EATBP-ODHOA technique is to develop an effective object detection model for visually impaired individuals by utilizing advanced DL techniques. The image pre-processing stage initially employs an adaptive bilateral filtering (ABF) technique to improve image quality by removing unwanted noise. Furthermore, the Faster R-CNN model is used for the object detection process. Moreover, the EATBP-ODHOA method utilizes fusion models such as ResNet and DenseNet-201 for the feature extraction process. Additionally, the bidirectional gated recurrent unit (Bi-GRU) method is employed for the classification process. Finally, the parameter tuning of the fusion models is performed by using the Hiking Optimisation Algorithm (HOA) method. The experimentation of the EATBP-ODHOA model is performed under the indoor object detection dataset. The comparison analysis of the EATBP-ODHOA model revealed a superior accuracy value of 99.25% compared to existing approaches.
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spelling doaj-art-d2d7b72b4e2948e4b872d064b338ff6b2025-08-20T04:03:17ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-08-0115111710.1038/s41598-025-14946-5Leveraging assistive technology for visually impaired people through optimal deep transfer learning based object detection modelMahir Mohammed Sharif Adam0Nojood O. Aljehane1Mohammed Yahya Alzahrani2Samah Al Zanin3Department of Computer and Self Development, Preparatory Year Deanship, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz UniversityDepartment of Computer Science, Faculty of Computers and Information Technology, University of TabukFaculty of Computing and Information, Al-Baha UniversityDepartment of Computer Science, College of Computer Engineering and Sciences, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz UniversityAbstract Visual impairment, such as blindness, can have a profound impact on an individual’s cognitive and psychological functioning. Therefore, the use of assistive techniques can help alleviate the adverse effects and enhance the quality of life for people who are blind. Most existing research primarily focuses on mobility, navigation, and object detection, with aesthetics receiving comparatively less attention, despite notable advancements in smart devices and innovative technologies for visually impaired individuals. Object detection is a crucial aspect of computer vision (CV), which involves classifying objects within images, enabling applications such as image retrieval, augmented reality, and many more. In recent times, deep learning (DL) techniques have become a powerful approach for extracting feature representations from data, leading to significant advancements in the field of object detection. In this paper, an enhanced assistive Technology for Blind People through Object Detection Using a Hiking optimization algorithm (EATBP-ODHOA) technique is proposed. The primary objective of the EATBP-ODHOA technique is to develop an effective object detection model for visually impaired individuals by utilizing advanced DL techniques. The image pre-processing stage initially employs an adaptive bilateral filtering (ABF) technique to improve image quality by removing unwanted noise. Furthermore, the Faster R-CNN model is used for the object detection process. Moreover, the EATBP-ODHOA method utilizes fusion models such as ResNet and DenseNet-201 for the feature extraction process. Additionally, the bidirectional gated recurrent unit (Bi-GRU) method is employed for the classification process. Finally, the parameter tuning of the fusion models is performed by using the Hiking Optimisation Algorithm (HOA) method. The experimentation of the EATBP-ODHOA model is performed under the indoor object detection dataset. The comparison analysis of the EATBP-ODHOA model revealed a superior accuracy value of 99.25% compared to existing approaches.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14946-5Object detectionHiking optimization algorithmBlind peopleFeature extraction, image pre-processing
spellingShingle Mahir Mohammed Sharif Adam
Nojood O. Aljehane
Mohammed Yahya Alzahrani
Samah Al Zanin
Leveraging assistive technology for visually impaired people through optimal deep transfer learning based object detection model
Scientific Reports
Object detection
Hiking optimization algorithm
Blind people
Feature extraction, image pre-processing
title Leveraging assistive technology for visually impaired people through optimal deep transfer learning based object detection model
title_full Leveraging assistive technology for visually impaired people through optimal deep transfer learning based object detection model
title_fullStr Leveraging assistive technology for visually impaired people through optimal deep transfer learning based object detection model
title_full_unstemmed Leveraging assistive technology for visually impaired people through optimal deep transfer learning based object detection model
title_short Leveraging assistive technology for visually impaired people through optimal deep transfer learning based object detection model
title_sort leveraging assistive technology for visually impaired people through optimal deep transfer learning based object detection model
topic Object detection
Hiking optimization algorithm
Blind people
Feature extraction, image pre-processing
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14946-5
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