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

对于盲人或视障人士(BVI)，传递信息的主要方式是通过盲文和凸线插图等触觉渠道。然而，这些系统在将非触觉信息转换为这些形式方面存在复杂性，并且还导致用于指导和交流技术和艺术思想的笨重和耗费空间的材料。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，因为工程和科学在很大程度上依赖于在教学和同行讨论期间展示和处理图形信息。解决这个问题需要革命性的技术进步。目前，缺乏基础科学来解决如何操纵表面来传达触觉信息。因此，迫切需要更好地了解表面属性(机械、纹理、热、化学)和由此产生的表面触觉属性(纹理、柔软度、耐磨性等)之间的因果关系，以及需要培训工程师在设计过程中客观地考虑触觉和其他感官属性。满足这些需求不仅将对以材料科学为基础的人类与表面相互作用的理解产生革命性影响，而且还将对视障人士的教育和专业职业范式产生革命性影响。这项拟议工作的目的是检验以下假设：1.表面触觉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.存在客观因果关系，将触觉属性与基于工程的表面属性相关联；3.触觉可以与基于问题的学习方法一起使用来教育工程师解决感觉设计目标，以及吸引BVI学生在大学学习工程和科学。定量描述分析(QDA)将与人类评估者一起使用，以细致地识别和量化纺织品和固体聚合物表面的单个触觉描述符。此外，还将通过多种方法对表面进行分析，包括摩擦学测试、动态机械分析和表面形貌测量。将使用统计和神经网络技术来识别和调查触觉描述符和表面属性值之间的关系。通过一些创新机制，将研究任务与这项工作的教育活动紧密结合起来。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，了解如何直接控制和优化各种表面的触觉感觉，从而深入了解传达触觉信息的有效方法。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。对触觉的控制将彻底改变触觉显示器和纺织品等领域的模式，但更重要的是，将为英属维尔京群岛学生打开新的教育工具以及促进这些人更多参与工程和科学的技术的可能性。PI的生物摩擦学和聚合物背景以及他所在机构的资源具有独特的协同作用，最大限度地增加了成功完成这项工作的可能性。这些结果将对基于材料科学的触觉起源的基本理解产生深远的影响。这项工作还将作为一个教学平台，让学生接触到包含对工程产品的感官评估的设计体验。一种以问题为基础的教学方法，称为iSENSE，将被纳入研究生和顶峰设计课程。ISENSE的一个目标是使工程专业的学生能够超越学科范式，以应对涉及感官评估的现实世界设计挑战。ISENSE还面向英属维尔京群岛的初中和高中学生招收工程和科学专业的学生，他们参加PI主导的丰富课程，将触觉融入到工程设计灵感活动中。工科本科生将致力于设计项目，开发教学技术，帮助英属维尔京群岛学生在这些丰富的课程中学习。

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.