02032nas a2200157   4500008004100000245007800041210006900119520142200188100001801610700002101628700002201649700002401671700002201695700002601717856013101743       2020                        eng d00aText to Speech through Bluetooth for People with Special Needs Navigation0 aText to Speech through Bluetooth for People with Special Needs N3 aAs far as outdoor navigation is considered, the Global Positioning System (GPS) technology is still one of the most (if not the most) commonly used approaches. Even though it is still considered an ideal solution for navigating in outdoor areas, challenges and problems arise when GPS is considered for navigation inside buildings due to the fact that GPS signals cannot penetrate walls/ceilings (e.g., shopping malls, hospitals, etc.) and because signals can be absorbed by the building walls. This paper’s contribution is navigation system that assists people with special needs using an audio guidance system that incorporates input from a voice recognition system. The central part of the system is a device that is able to identify the position and orientation of the person that carries it and provide the ability to navigate and route by voice commands. The suggested voice synthesis system is used, so as to guide the user through obstacles in indoor locations. The information of the precise location and.orientation of the device is made available to the whole system, through the building’s network infrastructure, so that the user’s mobile phone, been connected to the same network and also to the user’s headset through BLE, is able to send audio commands. For the voice commands, Google Cloud Text-ToSpeech (TTS) will be used, supposed that an online connection is active on the user’s device.1 aBarri, Eirini1 aBouras, Christos1 aGkamas, Apostolos1 aKoulouri, Christina1 aMichos, Evangelos1 aKatsampiris, Spyridon  uhttp://telematics.upatras.gr/telematics/publications/text-speech-through-bluetooth-people-special-needs-navigation?language=el