I-Corps: Multimodal Image Perception System

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是让盲人和视障人士（BVI）比他们现在更好地感知图像。目前的技术是不够的，因为它们只能通过触觉方法向用户提供非常少的数据。通过多模态图像感知系统（MIPS），BVI学生将能够通过触觉，声音和触觉反馈等替代感官渠道感知图像。这将使他们能够积极参与探索STEM学科，如生物学或化学，这些学科在很大程度上依赖于对图像的理解。该系统的使用还将使BVI个人克服作为大学生追求STEM专业的耻辱和恐惧。此外，根据教育部的调查，与非STEM专业相比，STEM专业的个人通常有更高的薪水。使用MIPS可以促进他们参与STEM领域，这将使BVI个人追求更高的收入职业，并通过使BVI个人更具经济竞争力来促进劳动力的多样化。这个I-Corps项目将有助于解决盲人和视障人士（BVI）教育的改善问题。与BVI的个人进行了实验，比较他们的理解与多模态图像感知系统（MIPS）的图像，并与传统的系统，如触觉图像。通过这些实验，已经确定，与使用触觉图像相比，使用MIPS的盲人个体具有更好的准确性和对图像的理解。通过I-Corps计划，该团队将进一步调查最终用户最关键的需求，并确定将该技术商业化的最佳途径，使其能够被全国各地的教育工作者用于提高学生对STEM领域的理解。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to allow individuals who are blind and visually impaired (BVI) to perceive images better than they currently can. Current technologies are insufficient since they only provide very little data to the user through tactile methods. Through the Multimodal image perception system (MIPS), students who are BVI will be able to perceive images through alternate sensory channels such as haptic, sound and tactile feedback. This would enable them to be active participants in exploration of STEM subjects such as biology or chemistry which rely heavily on understanding images. The use of this system would also allow individuals with BVI to overcome the stigma and fear of pursuing STEM majors as college students. Moreover, according to surveys by the Department of Education individuals with STEM majors often had higher paying jobs as compared to non-STEM majors. The use of the MIPS may promote their participation in STEM fields, which would allow individuals with BVI to pursue higher paying careers and promote diversification of the workforce by making individuals with BVI more economically competitive.This I-Corps project will contribute to addressing the improvement in the education for individuals who are blind and visually impaired (BVI). Experiments have been conducted with individuals with BVI to compare their understanding of images with the multimodal image perception system (MIPS), and with conventional systems such as tactile images. Through these experiments, it has been identified that the individuals who are blind have a better accuracy and understanding of images using the MIPS as compared to using the tactile images. Through the I-Corps program, the team will further investigate the most critical needs of the end users and determine the most optimal path towards commercializing the technology to allow it to be used by educators around the country to improve their students' understanding of STEM fields.