{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,6]],"date-time":"2026-05-06T21:37:37Z","timestamp":1778103457741,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,17]],"date-time":"2025-11-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763337600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100019345","name":"King Salman center For Disability Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["KSRG-2024-055"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KSRG-2024-055"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100019345","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In recent decades, various assistive technologies have emerged to support visually impaired individuals. However, there remains a gap in terms of solutions that provide efficient, universal, and real-time capabilities by combining robust object detection, robust communication, continuous data processing, and emergency signaling in dynamic environments. In many existing systems, trade-offs are made in range, latency, or reliability when applied in changing outdoor or indoor scenarios. In this study, we propose a comprehensive framework specifically tailored for visually impaired people, integrating computer vision, edge computing, and a dual-channel communication architecture including low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technology. The system utilizes the YOLOv5 deep-learning model for the real-time detection of obstacles, paths, and assistive tools (such as the white cane) with high performance: precision 0.988, recall 0.969, and mAP 0.985. Implementation of edge-computing devices is introduced to offload computational load from central servers, enabling fast local processing and decision-making. The communications subsystem uses Wi-Fi as the primary link, while a LoRaWAN channel acts as a fail-safe emergency alert network. An IoT-based panic button is incorporated to transmit immediate location-tagged alerts, enabling rapid response by authorities or caregivers. The experimental results demonstrate the system\u2019s low latency and reliable operations under varied real-world conditions, indicating significant potential to improve independent mobility and quality of life for visually impaired people. The proposed solution offers cost-effective and scalable architecture suitable for deployment in complex and challenging environments where real-time assistance is essential.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s25227016","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]],"date-time":"2025-11-19T11:17:27Z","timestamp":1763551047000},"page":"7016","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Computer-Vision- and Edge-Enabled Real-Time Assistance Framework for Visually Impaired Persons with LPWAN Emergency Signaling"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"25","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2708-2064","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ghadah Naif","family":"Alwakid","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Computer Science, College of Computer and Information Sciences, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Al Jouf, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"King Salman Center for Disability Research, Riyadh 11614, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6339-2257","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mamoona","family":"Humayun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computing, Engineering, and the Built Environment, University of Roehampton, London SW15 5PJ, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6278-9516","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zulfiqar","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, Hazara University, Mansehra 21300, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Iqbal, M., Abdullah, A.Y.M., and Shabnam, F. 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