Haptic Virtual Environments to Enhance Navigation and Mobility of Blind People

触觉虚拟环境可增强盲人的导航和移动性

• 批准号: 8133826
• 负责人: MANDAYAM A SRINIVASAN
• 金额: $ 38.54万
• 依托单位: MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-01 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8133826
• 关键词: Acquaintances; Area; Canis familiaris; Categories; Cognitive; Cognitive Science; Collaborations; Complex; Destinations; Development; Devices; Diagnosis; Educational Curriculum; Educational process of instructing; Engineering; Environment; Face; Feedback; Floor; Foundations; Funding; Future; Goals; Grant; Hand; Home environment; Human; Individual; Information Technology; Internet; Knowledge; Learning; Libraries; Maps; Methods; Metric; Modeling; Motor; Operating System; Participant; Physical Efforts; Play; Positioning Attribute; Protocols documentation; Provider; Questionnaires; Rehabilitation Centers; Rehabilitation therapy; Research; Research Personnel; Research Project Grants; Robot; Role; Scientist; Sensory; Series; Services; Simulate; Sorting - Cell Movement; Space Explorations; Specialist; Speed; System; Teaching Method; Testing; Time; Touch sensation; Training; Transportation; Vision; Visit; Visual impairment; Visually Impaired Persons; Walking; Work; auditory feedback; base; blind; density; design; experience; flexibility; frontier; global environment; graphical user interface; haptics; improved; instructor; novel; operation; programs; public health relevance; research study; robotic device; skills; tool; usability; virtual; way finding

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our ability to navigate spaces independently, safely and efficiently is a combined product of sensory, motor and cognitive skills. When navigating through an unknown environment, the sense of vision plays a primary role in guiding sighted people safely to their destination. Lacking this information, blind people face great difficulties in exploring new spaces. For most blind individuals, walking into an unknown environment can be quite unpleasant and uncomfortable even after extensive orientation and mobility (O&M) rehabilitation training. The current O&M teaching methods have significant deficiencies such as limits on exploration time, exploration space, the physical effort needed and the required number of repetitions. In this proposed continuation of a collaborative project (funded by a R21 Exploratory/Developmental research grant from NEI) between The Carroll Center and The Touch Lab at MIT, we propose to further develop BlindAid, a desktop virtual environment (VE) system with 3D haptic and 3D audio feedback with which blind users can interact with virtual models of real spaces in order to become familiar with the spaces and their content prior to visiting them. This project includes two categories of specific aims. The first set of specific aims is to design and develop a VE system for users who are blind. It includes the development of (a) a virtual environment editor for the instructor/experimenter, and (b) navigation tools, such as, a virtual guide agent, multi- scale environments and GPS compatibility. The second set of specific aims is to conduct experiments on the use of the VE system, as follows: (a) exploration of virtual models, (b) construction of cognitive maps, and (c) activation of the cognitive maps when traversing through real spaces. Exploring interactively in the VE is expected to give the people who are blind a holistic and flexible cognitive model that will help them control the information density, and to provide a stimulating, comprehensive and thorough acquaintance with the target space. As a result, the three long-term benefits of this research are (a) integrating the VE system into an O&M curriculum at rehabilitation centers to improve their training services for blind individuals; (b) developing a VE system that can be used to download spatial maps with haptic and auditory feedback via the Internet that are compatible with GPS systems; (c) integrating the use of VE system in K-12 academic curriculums. Associated benefits include the development of collaborative research between the O&M service providers and researchers in the advanced information technology and cognitive science research fields. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed research project has been designed to expand the usability and usefulness of a novel virtual environment (VE) system that has been shown to help blind individuals explore and become familiar with unknown environments (e.g., a public transportation station or public library) before actually encountering and navigating through them. The planned experiments to evaluate this VE system with touch, feel, and audio interfaces can also contribute to the scientific understanding of how people who are blind construct and use cognitive maps of real spaces. This system can be integrated into the traditional orientation and mobility training curriculum at rehabilitation centers, or can be used to interact with downloaded spatial maps via the Internet, similar to the current map programs (e.g., Mapquest, Google Maps) that use a graphical interface for sighted users.

描述（由申请人提供）：我们独立，安全和有效地导航空间的能力是感官，运动和认知技能的综合产物。当在未知的环境中航行时，视觉在引导有视力的人安全到达目的地方面起着主要作用。由于缺乏这些信息，盲人在探索新的空间时面临很大困难。对于大多数盲人来说，即使经过广泛的定向和移动（O&M）康复训练，走进一个未知的环境也会非常不愉快和不舒服。目前的操作与维护教学方法存在着明显的不足，如对探索时间、探索空间、所需的体力和所需的重复次数的限制。在这个提议的继续合作项目中，（由NEI的R21探索/发展研究基金资助）在麻省理工学院的卡罗尔中心和触摸实验室之间，我们建议进一步开发BlindAid，桌面虚拟环境（VE）具有3D触觉和3D音频反馈的系统，盲人用户可以利用该系统与真实的空间的虚拟模型进行交互，以便熟悉空间及其内容在拜访他们之前。该项目包括两类具体目标。第一组具体目标是为盲人用户设计和开发虚拟现实系统。它包括开发（a）用于指导者/实验者的虚拟环境编辑器，和（B）导航工具，诸如虚拟引导代理、多尺度环境和GPS兼容性。第二组具体目标是对VE系统的使用进行实验，如下：（a）虚拟模型的探索，（B）认知地图的构建，以及（c）当穿越真实的空间时认知地图的激活。虚拟环境中的交互式探索，可以为盲人提供一个整体的、灵活的认知模式，帮助他们控制信息密度，使他们对目标空间有一个刺激的、全面的、透彻的认识。因此，本研究的三个长期效益是：（a）将VE系统整合到康复中心的O&M课程中，以改善其对盲人的培训服务;（B）开发一个VE系统，该系统可以用于通过互联网下载与GPS系统兼容的具有触觉和听觉反馈的空间地图;（c）在K-12学术课程中整合VE系统的使用。相关的好处包括O&M服务提供商与先进信息技术和认知科学研究领域的研究人员之间的合作研究的发展。 公共卫生关系：拟议的研究项目旨在扩展一种新型虚拟环境（VE）系统的可用性和实用性，该系统已被证明可以帮助盲人探索和熟悉未知环境（例如，公共交通站或公共图书馆），然后才真正遇到和导航通过它们。计划的实验，以评估这个VE系统的触摸，感觉，和音频接口也可以有助于科学的理解，人们谁是盲人如何构建和使用认知地图的真实的空间。该系统可以集成到康复中心的传统定向和移动训练课程中，或者可以用于通过互联网与下载的空间地图进行交互，类似于当前的地图程序（例如，Mapquest，Google地图），为有视力的用户使用图形界面。