SBIR Phase I: Gestural/Haptic Tongue Interface Wearable: Hands-free, Heads-up, and Private Interactivity

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是推动一种新的可穿戴设备的开发，这种设备可以像牙齿固位器、护口器或穿孔一样佩戴在口腔中。它将在增强现实、虚拟现实和混合现实(AR/VR/XR)方面实现新的互动，但也将成为6300万患有腕管综合征(CTS)、脊髓损伤(SCI)和身体损伤阻碍人们有效使用计算机的人的辅助设备。这将为这类可穿戴界面建立新的市场；开启新的人机交互，无论是作为独立设备还是与头盔显示(HMD)系统配对；并扩展私人、免提、平视并更好地利用人类自然的口腔内/智力能力的新界面。这将对将获得使用计算机能力的SCI/CTS用户以及使用HMD的大型和新兴AR/VR/XR行业产生重大影响。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将通过口腔内可穿戴解决方案推进一种用于人类口腔和舌头的新型界面工具的翻译。它将利用这样一个事实，即大脑感觉皮质和运动皮质中最大的专用区域用于手、嘴和舌头的功能。这个界面适应了这些已经很强的人类口语能力，将他们连接到数字世界。该项目将创造一种可以像牙齿固位体一样佩戴的设备，该设备创建一个具有触觉模式的触觉用户界面，用户可以在其中感觉和移动，类似于通过点击和滑动视觉图标和菜单来导航的触摸屏。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 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to advance the development of a new wearable device, worn in the mouth like a dental retainer, mouthguard, or piercing. It will enable new interactions in Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Mixed Reality (AR/VR/XR), but also serve as an assistive device to the 63 million people suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), and physical injuries blocking people from using computers effectively. This will establish new markets for this type of wearable interface; unlock new human-machine interactions, both as a standalone device and paired with Head Mounted Display (HMD) systems; and expand new interfaces that are private, hands-free, heads-up, and taking better advantage of natural human intraoral/mental abilities. This will have significant impact for SCI/CTS users who will obtain the ability to use computers, as well as the large and emerging AR/VR/XR industries using HMDs hands-free/heads-up with private gestural interaction.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will advance the translation of a novel interface tool for the human mouth and tongue via an intraoral wearable solution. It will exploit the fact that the largest dedicated areas of the brain’s sensory cortex and motor cortex are for hand, mouth, and tongue function. This interface adapts these already strong human oral abilities, connecting them to the digital world. This project will create a device to be worn like a dental retainer, where the device creates a haptic user interface with haptic patterns among which the user can feel and move, analogous to a touch screen navigated by tapping and swiping through visual icons and menus.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.