NSF Convergence Accelerator Track H: Smart Wearables for Expanding Workplace Access for People with Blindness and Low Vision

NSF 融合加速器轨道 H：智能可穿戴设备，扩大失明和低视力人士的工作场所使用范围

• 批准号: 2236097
• 负责人: John Ross Rizzo
• 金额: $ 74.35万
• 依托单位: New York University Medical Center
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-12-15 至 2024-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2236097&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Convergence; Accelerator; Track; Smart

There are 285 million people with blindness and low vision (pBLV) worldwide. One dramatic correlate of vision loss is unemployment, with rates as high as 81% in urban environments. Employment disparities stem, at least in large part, from difficulties with transportation to and from work and wayfinding within the workplace itself. This project takes a fundamental step in addressing the employment challenges of pBLV through a recently developed, powerful assistive-navigation platform, the Visually Impaired Smart Service System for Spatial Intelligence and Onboard Navigation (VIS4ION). VIS4ION is a discreet, instrumented backpack with an array of miniaturized sensors integrated into backstraps that connect to an embedded system for computational analysis. Real-time feedback is provided through a binaural bone conduction headset and an optional reconfigured waist strap turned haptic interface. The platform provides valuable micro-services for pBLV, including real-time navigation, scene analysis, and obstacle avoidance, all of which could transform workplace experiences for pBLV. To realize the goals of the project, a transdisciplinary team brings expertise across engineering (computer vision, haptics, sensors, and wireless), medicine (neurology and rehabilitation), and management (organizational change and behavior). These academic disciplines are partnered with a start-up, Tactile Navigation Tools (TNT), which is commercializing the technology, larger corporate firms in the space, a BLV-focused non-profit, Lighthouse Guild, and key government agencies. The development and deployment of advanced, connected wearables in workplace environments faces significant technical, business, social, and logistical challenges. This translational project seeks to overcome these challenges by completing four inter-connected tasks: Task 1 performs the first detailed, workplace-oriented study that assesses navigation accuracy of VIS4ION, as measured using additional cameras and inertial measurement units; Task 2 builds on the current VIS4ION interfaces to establish scalable, reproducible, and lower-cost tactile feedback, together with a new audio-based “cognitive assistant” for guidance; Task 3 augments the wearable with high-speed 5G connectivity to provide real-time, powerful cloud-based machine vision processing; Task 4 affords a series of novel studies to assess the workplace experiences of pBLV via our partner, Lighthouse Guild. The assessment includes both “think aloud” recordings and contextualized reflections. The total cost of BLV was recently estimated to be $3 trillion dollars globally. The pathologic link between vision loss and inactivity precipitates debility and unemployment. Mobility losses lead to employment barriers, as pBLV struggle during daily commuting, wayfinding in the workplace, and variable work routines that have been intensified by the pandemic. This proposal aims to increase the safety profile and ease-of-use of a wearable platform toward ‘connected’ dynamic navigation in complex workplace environments. Future goals for scaling the platform include adding additional social capabilities such as face and emotion recognition to substantively improve quality of life in a smarter and more connected, disability-first city landscape. Beyond the envisioned impact on science, engineering, and improving the lives of pBLV, this program will foster formal and informal learning opportunities for graduate, undergraduate, medical, and high school students in clinical and fundamental STEM/STEAM research. These training opportunities will foster multi-pronged and multi-disciplinary team approaches critical to the development of innovative solutions for complex real-world problems.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.

全世界有2.85亿人患有失明和低视力。视力丧失的一个显著相关因素是失业率，在城市环境中失业率高达81%。就业差异至少在很大程度上源于上下班的交通困难以及工作场所本身的寻路困难。该项目通过最近开发的强大辅助导航平台——视障人士空间智能和车载导航智能服务系统（VIS4ION），为解决视障人士的就业挑战迈出了根本性的一步。VIS4ION是一款精密的仪器背包，背带上集成了一系列微型传感器，连接到嵌入式系统进行计算分析。实时反馈通过双耳骨传导耳机和可选的重新配置的腰间带变成触觉界面。该平台为pBLV提供了有价值的微服务，包括实时导航、场景分析和避障，这些都可以改变pBLV的工作场所体验。为了实现项目的目标，一个跨学科的团队带来了跨越工程（计算机视觉、触觉、传感器和无线）、医学（神经学和康复）和管理（组织变革和行为）的专业知识。这些学术学科的合作伙伴包括正在将该技术商业化的初创企业触觉导航工具（TNT）、该领域的大型企业、专注于blv的非营利组织灯塔协会（Lighthouse Guild）和主要政府机构。在工作环境中开发和部署先进的互联可穿戴设备面临着重大的技术、业务、社会和后勤挑战。该转化项目旨在通过完成四个相互关联的任务来克服这些挑战：任务1执行第一个详细的、以工作场所为导向的研究，评估VIS4ION的导航精度，使用额外的相机和惯性测量单元进行测量；任务2建立在当前VIS4ION界面的基础上，建立可扩展、可复制、成本更低的触觉反馈，以及一种新的基于音频的“认知助手”指导；Task 3通过高速5G连接增强可穿戴设备，提供实时、强大的基于云的机器视觉处理；任务4提供了一系列新颖的研究，通过我们的合作伙伴灯塔协会来评估pBLV的工作场所体验。评估包括“自言自语”录音和情境化反思。最近，全球BLV的总成本估计为3万亿美元。视力丧失和不活动之间的病理联系会导致身体虚弱和失业。行动不便导致就业障碍，因为pBLV在日常通勤、在工作场所找路以及因大流行而加剧的可变工作程序中遇到困难。该方案旨在提高可穿戴平台的安全性和易用性，从而在复杂的工作环境中实现“互联”动态导航。未来扩展该平台的目标包括增加额外的社交功能，如面部和情感识别，从而在更智能、更互联、残疾人优先的城市景观中大幅提高生活质量。除了对科学，工程和改善pBLV生活的预期影响之外，该计划还将为研究生，本科生，医学和高中学生提供临床和基础STEM/STEAM研究的正式和非正式学习机会。这些培训机会将培养多管齐下、多学科的团队方法，这对于为复杂的现实问题开发创新解决方案至关重要。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Parametrization of High-Rank Line-of-Sight MIMO Channels with Reflected Paths

具有反射路径的高阶视距 MIMO 信道的参数化

• DOI: 10.1109/spawc51304.2022.9833962
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: IEEE SPAWC
• 作者: Hu, Yaqi;Yin, Mingsheng;Rangan, Sundeep;Mezzavilla, Marco
• 通讯作者: Mezzavilla, Marco

Wide-Aperture MIMO via Reflection off a Smooth Surface

通过光滑表面的反射实现大孔径 MIMO

• DOI: 10.1109/twc.2022.3232742
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications
• 影响因子: 10.4
• 作者: Pizzo, Andrea;Lozano, Angel;Rangan, Sundeep;Marzetta, Thomas L.
• 通讯作者: Marzetta, Thomas L.