SBIR Phase I: Gestural/Haptic Tongue Interface Wearable: Hands-free, Heads-up, and Private Interactivity

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是推进一种新的可穿戴设备的开发，这种设备可以像牙齿保持器，护齿器或穿孔器一样戴在嘴里。它将实现增强现实，虚拟现实和混合现实（AR/VR/XR）的新交互，但也可以作为6300万患有腕管综合症（CTS），脊髓损伤（SCI）和身体损伤的人的辅助设备，阻止人们有效地使用计算机。这将为这种类型的可穿戴界面建立新市场;解锁新的人机交互，无论是作为独立设备还是与头戴式显示器（HMD）系统配对;并扩展新的界面，这些界面是私人的，免提的，抬头的，并更好地利用自然的人类口内/心理能力。这将对SCI/CTS用户产生重大影响，他们将获得使用计算机的能力，以及大型和新兴的AR/VR/XR行业使用HMD免提/抬头与私人手势交互。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将通过口内可穿戴解决方案推进人类口腔和舌头的新型界面工具的翻译。 它将利用大脑感觉皮层和运动皮层中最大的专用区域是手、嘴和舌头功能的事实。这个界面适应了这些已经很强的人类口语能力，将它们与数字世界联系起来。该项目将创建一个像牙科固位器一样佩戴的设备，该设备创建一个具有触觉模式的触觉用户界面，用户可以在其中感觉和移动，类似于通过点击和滑动视觉图标和菜单进行导航的触摸屏。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值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 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to advance the development of a new wearable device, worn in the mouth like a dental retainer, mouthguard, or piercing. It will enable new interactions in Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Mixed Reality (AR/VR/XR), but also serve as an assistive device to the 63 million people suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), and physical injuries blocking people from using computers effectively. This will establish new markets for this type of wearable interface; unlock new human-machine interactions, both as a standalone device and paired with Head Mounted Display (HMD) systems; and expand new interfaces that are private, hands-free, heads-up, and taking better advantage of natural human intraoral/mental abilities. This will have significant impact for SCI/CTS users who will obtain the ability to use computers, as well as the large and emerging AR/VR/XR industries using HMDs hands-free/heads-up with private gestural interaction.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will advance the translation of a novel interface tool for the human mouth and tongue via an intraoral wearable solution. It will exploit the fact that the largest dedicated areas of the brain’s sensory cortex and motor cortex are for hand, mouth, and tongue function. This interface adapts these already strong human oral abilities, connecting them to the digital world. This project will create a device to be worn like a dental retainer, where the device creates a haptic user interface with haptic patterns among which the user can feel and move, analogous to a touch screen navigated by tapping and swiping through visual icons and menus.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.