Roboglasses® electronic travel aid with hands free obstacle avoidance for blind and vision impaired users

项目概要- Fauxsee Innovations，LLC 本项目的目标是评估电子旅行援助（ETA）的有效性和可用性， Roboglasses®（通过NSF SBIR资助开发）减少头部和上身受伤 目前使用手杖和/或导盲犬移动的盲人。手杖和狗只提供 有关地面障碍物和现有预计到达时间的信息是侵入性的，传递的信息有限 内容，并需要一个陡峭的学习曲线掌握。我们的Roboglasses®解决方案提供了一种新的方法， 障碍物检测/回避旨在解决这些缺点，提高安全性和效率 为盲人用户提供独立旅行。我们的方法使用简单的免提解决方案， 触觉通信的通道，以直观、无声和 易于使用的方式。Roboglasses® ETA像太阳镜一样戴着，可以解放双手来使用狗， 手持手杖或其他物体;它提供有关位置，距离和方向的详细信息。 使用不显眼的触觉界面，学习是自然和直观的，而不是需要认知 努力和长期的训练。由于触觉信息的感测和传递耦合到头部， 与其他ETA的情况相比，它提供了与距离/方向更好的感知耦合 提示和与用户移动方向相关的更自然的信息。该项目旨在建立 四种先进的Roboglasses® ETA模型，并对20名完全失明的成年人进行深入的人体试验 以确定新的ETA是否显著改善了对这些用户头部和上身伤害的保护 在航行中。额外的实验将完善接口参数和可用性特征， 确保系统针对盲人用户进行优化，并在设计过程中纳入他们的意见。采用这种 以人为中心的迭代设计方法在ETA开发中很少见，但可以确保最终产品 可能被目标人群接受和采用。实验性试验将基于实验室的联合收割机 经验程序和基于精心规划的测试环境的定性用户反馈。的 环境中使用的障碍物模仿现实生活中的危险，经常导致上身和头部受伤， 盲人将进行初始测试序列，以优化界面可用性并确保 坚持良好的人为因素设计。ETA传感器数据，视频记录和行为表现 将对时间和误差测量以及调查响应进行分析和关联，以改进设备设计 并发表研究结果以推进埃塔科学。研究小组的两名成员是盲人：布兰登 Fauxsee总裁Foshee和定向和移动技术专家Nicholas Giudice博士， 辅助技术设计。这种第一手的现象学在大多数研究和发展中是缺乏的 辅助技术的努力，但对于确定用户需求和了解什么有效至关重要 并且在ETA中不起作用，这种洞察力将指导系统设计和评估的各个方面。

Project Summary – Fauxsee Innovations, LLC The objective of this project is to assess the efficacy and usability of an electronic travel aid (ETA) called Roboglasses® (developed through an NSF SBIR grant) in reducing head and upper body injuries sustained by blind people who currently use a cane and/or guide dog for mobility. Canes and dogs only provide information about ground-level obstructions and existing ETAs are intrusive, convey limited information content, and require a steep learning curve to master. Our Roboglasses® solution provides a new approach to obstacle detection/ avoidance designed to address these shortcomings and improve the safety and efficiency of independent travel for blind users. Our approach uses a simple, hands-free solution that provides a new channel of haptic communication to convey environmental information to the user in an intuitive, silent, and easy-to-use manner. The Roboglasses® ETA, worn like a pair of sunglasses, frees the hands to use the dog, hold a cane or other object; it delivers detailed information about the location, distance and direction of obstacles using an unobtrusive haptic interface where learning is natural and intuitive, vs. requiring cognitive effort and prolonged training. As the sensing and delivery of haptic information is coupled to the head rather than the hand as is the case with other ETAs, it provides better perceptual coupling with distance/directional cues and more natural information related to the user's direction of movement. This project proposes to build four advanced models of the Roboglasses® ETA and conduct in-depth human trials with 20 totally blind adults to determine if the new ETA significantly improves protection of these users from head and upper body injuries during navigation. Additional experiments will refine interface parameters and usability characteristics to ensure the system is optimized for blind users and includes their input in the design process. Adopting this human-centered, iterative design approach is rare in ETA development but ensures that the end product is likely to be accepted and adopted by the target demographic. The experimental trials combine lab-based empirical procedures and qualitative user feedback based on meticulously planned testing environments. The environments use obstacles that mimic real-life hazards that frequently cause upper body and head injuries to blind people. An initial sequence of tests will be conducted to optimize interface usability and ensure adherence to good human factors design. ETA sensor data, video recording and behavioral performance on temporal and error measures, and survey responses will be analyzed and correlated to improve device design and for publication of results to advance ETA science. Two members of the research team are blind: Brandon Foshee, Fauxsee's president, and Dr. Nicholas Giudice, an expert in Orientation and Mobility techniques and assistive technology design. This first-hand phenomenology is lacking in most research and development efforts of assistive technologies but is critical for establishing user needs and for understanding what works and doesn't work in an ETA, insight that will guide all aspects of system design and evaluation.