PFI-TT: A portable and real-time system for individuals with visual impairments to explore digital images using alternate feedback

这一创新-技术转化伙伴关系(PFI-TT)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一种便携式技术，使盲人或视障人士能够通过替代感觉模式实时获取数字图像。目前在触觉纸打印输出上生成可访问图像的方法笨重、开发耗时、成本过高，并且需要目视帮助。拟议的技术为促进盲人或视障学生(BVI)的参与提供了机会，并使他们能够与有视力的同龄人一样，从积极的学习经历中受益，特别是在科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)领域。拟议的系统将允许英属维尔京群岛学生即时访问图像，支持与可视科学数据进行自然和直观的互动，并使他们能够执行基于观察的任务。拟议系统的成功商业化将消除英属维尔京群岛学生STEM教育中的一个巨大障碍，并将鼓励他们在STEM相关领域从事职业生涯。该系统还有可能在加强英属维尔京群岛社区的社会互动方面发挥关键作用。拟议的项目将允许开发一种便携式、低成本的系统，使英属维尔京群岛的个人能够实时理解图像。对于英属维尔京群岛的个人来说，目前还没有一种商业上可用的工具可以携带并允许实时探索图像。拟议开发的系统的新颖性有三个方面。作为平板电脑的配件，它是便携的。它还结合了一个多感觉反馈界面，包括触觉、声音和振动等模式。最后，它部署了一个智能计算单元，使用计算神经网络来表征视觉信息，并通过各种感觉模式以最佳方式传递信息。使用数字图像的多感官和智能接口提出了一种新的解决方案，以提高实时探索和感知视觉数据的效率。普渡大学的团队将开发并测试一种便携式图像探索系统，允许英属维尔京群岛的个人使用带有支持软件的便携式控制器来实时探索图像。这将产生用于Beta测试的原型，以评估可用性、性能、可靠性和总体用户满意度。结果将被用来评估拟议系统的整体影响。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation-Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to develop a portable technology enabling individuals who are blind or visually impaired to have access to digital images in real time through alternate sensory modalities. Current methods to generate accessible images on tactile paper printouts are bulky, time-consuming to develop, cost-prohibitive, and require sighted assistance. The proposed technology presents the opportunity to promote the participation of students who are blind or visually impaired (BVI) and enable them to equally benefit from active learning experiences as their sighted peers, especially in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The proposed system will allow instant access to images for students who are BVI, supporting natural and intuitive interaction with visual scientific data and enabling them to perform observation-based tasks. Successful commercialization of the proposed system will remove a huge obstacle in the STEM education of BVI students and will encourage them to pursue a career in STEM related fields. The system also has the potential to play a critical role in enhancing social interaction in the BVI community. The proposed project will allow the development of a portable, low-cost system which enables individuals who are BVI to understand images in real time. There is currently no commercially available tool for BVI individuals that is portable and allows real-time exploration of images. The novelty of the proposed system developed is three-fold. As a tablet accessory, it is portable. It also incorporates a multisensory feedback interface comprising modalities such as haptics, sound and vibration. Lastly, it is deployed with an intelligent computing unit that uses Computational Neural Networks to characterize visual information and optimally delivering it through various sensory modalities. Using a multisensory and intelligent interface with digital images poses a novel solution to increase efficiency of exploration and perception of visual data in real-time. The team at Purdue University will develop and beta test a portable image exploration system allowing BVI individuals to use a portable controller with supporting software to explore images in real-time. This will result in prototypes for beta testing to assess usability, performance, reliability, and overall user satisfaction. Results will be used to assess the overall impact of the proposed system.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.