I-Corps: Pneu Haptics: malleable materials for tactile interaction

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过改善对数字内容的获取来提高盲人的识字能力。目前，盲人严重依赖文本语音转换软件和有声读物来消化数字内容。然而，听力不能提供与阅读盲文相同的直接感和识字感。此外，音频技术和单行显示无法提供空间信息，例如数学方程式、图表和图形，而这些信息对科学、技术和数学相关学科的素养至关重要。商业电子触觉显示器是存在的，但由于底层技术的复杂性和成本，这些设备昂贵得令人望而却步，而且仅限于单行盲文。一款价格实惠的全页触觉显示屏，提供多行盲文和触觉图形，将极大地改善盲人获得数字技术的机会。新技术可以提高盲人的识字率、教育成果和整体生活方式。I-Corps项目将评估使用专利微流控技术开发全页触觉显示器的商业可行性。基于该技术，微流控芯片可以降低控制大量密集封装气动执行器的复杂性和成本。数千个单独可控制的特征的大阵列是可能的。气动执行器采用大规模集成的方式直接集成到微流控芯片中，使装置成本低、可扩展性强。基于压力的驱动确保即使是紧密放置的部件也能保持相对较高的力输出。这些都是建造密集阵列触觉显示器的基本特征，特别是那些低成本、适合呈现盲文和触觉图形的显示器。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to improve the literacy of blind people by enabling improved access to digital content. Currently blind people rely heavily on text-to-speech software and audiobooks to digest digital context. However, listening does not delivery the same sense of immediacy and literacy as reading braille. Also, audio technology and single line displays cannot deliver spatial information, e.g. mathematical equations, diagrams, and graphs, which are critical to literacy in science, technology, and math-related subjects. Commercial electronic tactile displays exist, but due to the complexity and cost of the underlying technology, the devices are prohibitively expensive and are limited to a single line of braille. An affordable full-page tactile display delivering multiple lines of braille and tactile graphics would significantly improve blind people's access to digital technology. New technology can improve literacy rates, education outcomes and overall lifestyle of blind people. The I-Corps project will assess the commercial viability of using a patented microfluidic technology for developing a full-page tactile display. Based on the technology, a microfluidic chip can reduce the complexity and cost of controlling a large number of densely-packed pneumatic actuators. A large array of thousands of individually controllable features is possible. The pneumatic actuators are integrated directly into the microfluidic chip using large-scale integration, making the device low-cost and highly scalable. Pressure-based actuation ensures that even tightly placed features will maintain relatively high force outputs. These are all essential features for building dense-array tactile displays, particularly ones that are low-cost and suitable for rendering braille and tactile graphics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.