Empowering the visually impaired by understanding links between tactility and properties of surfaces

在盲人或视障人士（BVI）中，传递信息的主要手段是通过触觉渠道，如盲文和凸线插图。然而，这些系统在将非触觉信息转换为这些形式时呈现出复杂性，并且还导致用于指导和交流技术和艺术思想的笨重且占用空间的材料。这对英属维尔京群岛人充分参与工程和科学的能力是一个相当大的障碍，因为工程和科学在教学和同行讨论期间严重依赖于图形信息的呈现和操作。解决这个问题需要技术上的革命性改进。目前，缺乏基础科学来解决如何操纵表面来传递触觉信息。因此，迫切需要更好地理解表面特性（机械、纹理、热、化学）与表面的触觉属性（纹理、柔软度、耐磨性等）之间的因果关系，也需要培训工程师在设计过程中客观地考虑触感和其他感官属性。解决这些需求不仅会对基于材料科学的对人类与表面互动的理解产生变革性影响，而且会对视障人士的教育和职业模式产生变革。本工作的目的是检验以下假设：1。表面触感可以通过客观触觉描述符和相关分数的集合来定量描述，2。客观的因果关系存在，将触觉属性与基于工程的表面特性联系起来。触觉可以与基于问题的学习方法一起使用，以教育工程师解决感官设计目标，并吸引英属维尔京群岛的学生在大学学习工程和科学。这项工作将采用彻底的实验方法。定量描述分析（QDA）将与人类评估人员一起使用，以仔细识别和量化纺织品和固体聚合物表面的单个触觉描述符。表面还将通过许多方法进行分析，包括摩擦学测试、动态力学分析和表面形貌测量。统计和神经网络技术将用于识别和研究触觉描述符和表面属性值之间的关系。研究任务将通过一些创新机制与这项工作的教育活动密切结合起来。知识价值。这项工作是新颖的和变革性的，因为它将是第一个广泛的基于工程的方法来理解如何直接控制和优化各种表面的触觉感觉，从而产生对传递触觉信息的有效手段的见解。这些知识还将培育新的研究领域，弥合工程学和神经科学之间的差距。触觉控制将彻底改变触觉显示和纺织品等领域的范例，但更重要的是，它将为英属维尔京群岛学生的教育工具和技术打开新的大门，以促进这些人更多地参与工程和科学。PI的生物摩擦学和聚合物背景与他所在机构的资源形成了独特的协同作用，最大限度地提高了成功完成这项工作的可能性。更广泛的影响。这些结果将对基于触感起源的材料科学的基本理解产生深远的影响。这项工作也将作为一个教学平台，让学生接触到设计体验，包括对工程产品的感官评估。一个基于问题的教学方法，称为iSENSE，将纳入研究生和顶点设计课程。iSENSE的目标是使工程学生能够超越学科范式，以解决涉及感官评估的现实世界设计挑战。iSENSE还针对英属维尔京群岛的初中和高中学生招募工程和科学，通过他们参与pi主导的丰富课程，将触感融入工程设计启发活动。工科本科学生将参与设计项目，开发教学技术，以帮助英属维尔京群岛学生在这些丰富课程中学习。

In blind or visually impaired (BVI) individuals, a primary means of delivering information is through tactile channels such as Braille and raised-line illustrations. However, these systems present complications in translating non-tactile information to these forms, and also result in cumbersome and space-consuming materials for instruction and communication of technical and artistic ideas. This is a considerable hindrance to the ability of BVI persons to fully participate in engineering and the sciences, which rely heavily on the presentation and manipulation of graphical information during instruction and peer discussion. A revolutionary improvement in technology is required to address this issue. Currently, there is a lack of fundamental science to address how surfaces can be manipulated to convey tactile information. Thus, there is a critical need to better understand the causative relationships between surface properties (mechanical, textural, thermal, chemical) and the resulting tactile attributes of surfaces (texture, softness, abrasiveness, etc.), as well as a need to train engineers to objectively consider tactility and other sensory attributes during design. Addressing these needs will have a transformative effect not only on the materials science-based understanding of human interaction with surfaces, but also on the paradigms of education and professional occupation of the visually impaired. The objectives of this proposed work areto test the hypotheses that: 1. Surface tactility can be described quantitatively by a collection of objective tactile descriptors and associated scores, 2. Objective causal relationships exist that relate tactile attributes to engineering-based surface properties, 3. Tactility can be used with a problem-based learning approach to educate engineers to address sensorydesign goals, as well as attract BVI students to study engineering and science in college.This work will employ a thorough experimental approach. Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) will be used with human evaluators to meticulously identify and quantify the individual tactile descriptors of both textile and solid polymer surfaces. Surfaces will also be analyzed by a number of methods including tribological testing, dynamic mechanical analysis, and surface topography measurement. Statistical and neural network techniques will be employed to identify and investigate relationships between the tactile descriptors and the surface property values. The research tasks will be closely integrated with the educational activities of this work through a number of innovative mechanisms.Intellectual Merit. This work is novel and transformative because it will be the first broad engineering based approach to understanding how to directly control and optimize the tactile feel of a variety of surfaces and thus produce insights into efficient means of conveying tactile information. This knowledge will also foster new fields of research that will bridge the gap between engineering and neuroscience. Control of tactility will revolutionize paradigms in such fields as haptic displays and textiles, but more importantly will open new doors into the possibilities for educational tools for BVI students as well as technologies to facilitate greater participation of these persons in engineering and science. There is a unique synergy with the biotribology and polymers background of the PI and the resources of his institution that maximize the probability of successful completion of this work.Broader Impacts. These results will have far-reaching impact on the fundamental understanding of the materials science based origins of tactility. The work will also serve as an instructional platform to expose students to design experiences that incorporate sensory assessment of engineered products. A problem based pedagogical approach, termed iSENSE, will be incorporated into graduate and capstone design courses. A goal of iSENSE is to enable engineering students to transcend discipline paradigms in order to address real-world design challenges that involve sensory assessment. iSENSE also targets the recruitment of middle- and high school BVI students to engineering and science, by their participation in PI-led enrichment courses that will incorporate tactility into engineering design inspired activities. Undergraduate engineering students will work on design projects to develop instructional technology to help facilitate the learning of the BVI students during these enrichment courses.