I-Corps: Multimodal Image Perception System

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是让盲人和视障人士(BVI)能够比目前更好地感知图像。目前的技术是不够的，因为它们只通过触觉方法向用户提供非常少的数据。通过多模式图像感知系统(MIPS)，BVI学生将能够通过触觉、声音和触觉反馈等交替的感官渠道感知图像。这将使他们能够积极参与对STEM学科的探索，如生物或化学，这些学科严重依赖于理解图像。该系统的使用还将允许英属维尔京群岛的个人克服在大学期间攻读STEM专业的耻辱和恐惧。此外，根据教育部的调查，与非STEM专业的人相比，STEM专业的人往往有更高的收入。MIPS的使用可以促进他们在STEM领域的参与，这将使BVI个人能够追求更高报酬的职业，并通过使BVI个人在经济上更具竞争力来促进劳动力多样化。这个i-Corps项目将有助于解决盲人和视障人士(BVI)教育的改善问题。对患有BVI的个体进行了实验，以比较他们对图像的理解与多模式图像感知系统(MIPS)以及传统系统(如触觉图像)的理解。通过这些实验发现，与使用触觉图像相比，盲人使用MIPS图像具有更好的准确性和对图像的理解。通过i-Corps计划，该团队将进一步调查最终用户最关键的需求，并确定将该技术商业化的最佳途径，以便全国各地的教育工作者使用它来提高学生对STEM领域的理解。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to allow individuals who are blind and visually impaired (BVI) to perceive images better than they currently can. Current technologies are insufficient since they only provide very little data to the user through tactile methods. Through the Multimodal image perception system (MIPS), students who are BVI will be able to perceive images through alternate sensory channels such as haptic, sound and tactile feedback. This would enable them to be active participants in exploration of STEM subjects such as biology or chemistry which rely heavily on understanding images. The use of this system would also allow individuals with BVI to overcome the stigma and fear of pursuing STEM majors as college students. Moreover, according to surveys by the Department of Education individuals with STEM majors often had higher paying jobs as compared to non-STEM majors. The use of the MIPS may promote their participation in STEM fields, which would allow individuals with BVI to pursue higher paying careers and promote diversification of the workforce by making individuals with BVI more economically competitive.This I-Corps project will contribute to addressing the improvement in the education for individuals who are blind and visually impaired (BVI). Experiments have been conducted with individuals with BVI to compare their understanding of images with the multimodal image perception system (MIPS), and with conventional systems such as tactile images. Through these experiments, it has been identified that the individuals who are blind have a better accuracy and understanding of images using the MIPS as compared to using the tactile images. Through the I-Corps program, the team will further investigate the most critical needs of the end users and determine the most optimal path towards commercializing the technology to allow it to be used by educators around the country to improve their students' understanding of STEM fields.