I-Corps: Hand-held assistive mobility device for the visually impaired using sensors to feel obstacles from a distance and track their movements

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是为视力受损者开发一种手持辅助移动设备。 疾病控制中心（CDC）估计，在美国，大约有1200万40岁以上的人患有视力障碍。视力障碍和视力丧失是18岁以上个人的十大残疾之一，可能造成重大的社会和经济损失，包括但不限于生产力的重大损失和生活质量的下降。此外，40岁及以上人群中主要视力问题的年度经济影响估计为1450亿美元。所提出的设备具有显著改善数百万目前使用辅助移动设备（如广泛使用的“白色手杖”）的无视力或低视力人群的移动性、可达性和生活质量的潜力。该技术还为在低能见度或灾害条件下工作的人提供了潜在的好处，例如紧急第一反应人员或军事人员。这个I-Corps项目是基于开发一种手持设备，该设备使用遥感技术来控制手上的动态触觉显示器，使视力受损者能够比使用当前的辅助技术设备更快、更广泛地检测和分类其环境中的障碍物。 与涉及用白色手杖触摸或戳物品或依赖个人跟随听觉线索的现有技术不同，该设备可以使个人能够从远处感觉障碍物和目标的存在，包括多个障碍物的相对位置，并且能够跟踪附近障碍物和目标的相对移动。 所提出的技术是对基于声音导航和测距（SONAR）和光探测和测距（LIDAR）的传感器系统的信息的优化图形显示的研究的延伸。当通过手而不是耳朵传递多通道空间信息时，低视力情况下的人可能更好地快速处理和利用多通道空间信息。这项技术利用了人类在探索环境时使用的自然主动感知行为。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识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 I-Corps project is the development of a hand-held assistive mobility device for the visually impaired. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that approximately 12 million people over the age of 40 suffer from visual impairment in the United States. Vision impairment and loss of sight are among the top 10 disabilities for individuals over the age of 18 and can have a substantial social and economic toll including, but not limited to, significant loss of productivity and diminished quality of life. Further, the annual economic impact of major vision problems in those 40 and older is estimated to be $145 billion. The proposed device holds the potential to significantly improve mobility, accessibility, and quality of life for the millions of people with no or low-vision that currently use an assistive mobility device such as the widely used “white cane.” The technology also offers potential benefits to people working in low-visibility or disaster conditions, such as emergency first-responders or military personnel.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a hand-held device that uses remote sensing technology to control a dynamic tactile display on the hand, allowing the visually impaired to detect and classify obstacles in their environment sooner and more broadly than is possible using current assistive technology devices. Unlike existing technologies that involve touching or poking items with a white cane or rely on the individual to follow auditory cues, this device may enable individuals to feel the presence of obstacles and targets from a distance, including the relative location of multiple obstacles and being able to track the relative movements of nearby obstacles and targets. The proposed technology is an extension of research into optimized graphical displays of information derived from Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR) and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR)-based sensor systems. People in low-vision situations may be better equipped to rapidly process and exploit multi-channel spatial information when it is delivered via the hand instead of the ear. The proposed technology exploits the natural active-sensing behaviors used by humans when they reach out to explore their environment.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.