STTR Phase I: Thermal Imaging Aid to the Blind

第一阶段的小企业技术转让研究开发了一种设备，可以让盲人或视力严重受损的人感知附近区域的人的位置和运动。该设备将利用一种新的低成本和微型热成像传感器技术来检测人的相对温暖，并通过触觉，触摸敏感界面将信息呈现给用户。一个人的社会交往能力是在教育环境、工作场所和娱乐活动中融入和独立的重要因素。 盲人或具有显著视力障碍的个体通常必须仅依靠口头或其他音频线索来识别人和群体活动的位置。在教室或会议环境中的几个人的组很难动态跟踪。在社交活动中，如聚会、观赏性体育运动和舞台表演，感知个人活动的能力对充分参与很重要。在拥挤的学校自助餐厅或礼堂里找座位的简单任务对盲人来说可能很难独立完成。该项目的更广泛影响将是提供一种使用热成像信息来驱动触觉显示的设备，从而改善视力残疾人的生活。

This Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer research develops a device to allow a blind person or individual with significant vision impairment to sense the location and movements of people in the immediate area. The device will utilize a new low cost and miniature thermal imaging sensor technology to detect the relative warmth of people and present the information to the user via a haptic, touch-sensitive interface. The ability of a person to interact socially is an important factor for integration and independence in educational settings, the workplace, and recreational activities. A blind person or an individual with significant vision impairment typically must rely solely on verbal or other audio cues to identify the locations of people and group activities. Groups of several people in a classroom or meeting setting are difficult to track dynamically. At social events such as parties, spectator sports, and stage presentations the ability to sense individual activities is important to full participation. The simple task of finding a seat in a crowded school cafeteria or auditorium can be difficult for a blind person to do independently. The broader impact of this project will be to provide a device using thermal imaging information to drive a haptic display enabling better lives for visually disabled persons.