VR System to Aid Mobility of Blind Individuals

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Lack of visual information imposes great difficulties on blind individuals walking through unfamiliar spaces. Currently, the orientation and mobility (O&M) skills needed for this task are taught by expert instructors following a curriculum, such as the one used at the Carroll Center for the Blind. The negative impact of reductions in the available O&M instructors due to cost cutting and other limitations of the current training methods such as limits on exploration time and number of repetitions can be minimized through the application of recent developments in desktop virtual reality (VR) technology developed at the MIT Touch Lab. In this collaborative project between the Carroll Center and the MIT Touch Lab, we propose to develop a desktop VR system with 3D haptic and audio feedback with which blind users can interact with virtual models of real spaces that they are familiar with them before actually encountering them. The specific aims of the project are (1) to develop the VR system with spatial features; (2) To conduct experiments with totally blind individuals to develop a scientific understanding of (a) how they explore virtual spaces, (b) how they construct cognitive maps of unfamiliar spaces using the VR system, and (c) how they activate the cognitive maps in negotiating through the real space. Exploring in the VR is expected to (1) increase the self- confidence of blind individuals; (2) give them a holistic and flexible cognitive model that will help them control the information density, and (3) provide a stimulating, comprehensive and thorough acquaintance with the target space. The haptic devices are becoming cheaper so that affordable VR systems can be practical in the near future. As a result of this the three long-term benefits of this research are (a) integrating the VR system into an O&M curriculum at rehabilitation centers, to improve their services for blind individuals; (b) developing a VR system that can be used to download spatial maps with haptic and: auditory feedback via the Internet, similar to the current map programs (e.g., Mapquest); (c) integrating the use of VR system in K-12 academic curriculum (e.g., literal feeling of data in Physics, Geometry etc.). Associated aims include the development of conversation, understanding, and collaborative research between the O&M service providers for blind individuals with researchers and developers in the advanced information technology and cognitive science research fields.