Haptic display of space through portable nav aids

描述(申请人提供)：通过便携式导航辅助设备为视障人士提供触觉空间展示：通过触摸进行空间感知是对视力下降时丧失的能力的主要补偿，而长拐杖可以说仍然是视障人士最受欢迎和最有效的导航辅助工具。通过手杖手柄感觉到的力和扭矩是用户推断环境布局的两个最重要的线索。令人惊讶的是，这些提示并没有明确地融入到电子旅行辅助工具中，而是专注于对距离的听觉或振动触觉编码，这两者都与环境布局的感知没有直观的联系。目标是利用力和扭矩提示，这使得拐杖的使用从一开始就非常直观，以有效地传达手杖无法触及的环境布局。我们将开发一种新型的电子旅行辅助设备，它利用这些线索，结合测距传感器，实现对可识别空间的直观扩展。这些设备既可以用作通用导航设备，也可以在特定情况下使用，例如寻找街道另一边的物理地标，以方便穿越。在这项研究中，我们将分别处理力和力矩线索，以确定它们在导航以及障碍物检测和回避中应用的空间知觉中的单独角色。我们将进行实验，并开发针对这两种线索的装置。然后，这两种类型的设备将在一组共同的任务中进行评估，以便于比较。由于这项关于电子旅行辅助工具的研究建立在最有效的旅行辅助工具的基础上，它有望显著增强视障人士的导航能力，并对独立性和生活质量产生相关影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Haptic display of space through portable navigation aids for the visually impaired: Spatial perception via touch is a primary compensation for the capabilities lost when vision is diminished, and the long cane arguably remains the most popular and effective navigation aid for the visually impaired. Forces and torques sensed through the handle of the cane are two of the most important cues through which users infer the layout of the environment. Surprisingly, these cues have not been explicitly incorporated into electronic travel aids, which have instead focused on auditory or vibrotactile coding of distance, neither of which is intuitively associated with the sensing of environmental layout.The goal is to utilize force and torque cues, which make the use of the cane so very intuitive in the first place, to effectively convey the layout of the environment beyond the reach of the cane. We will develop a novel class of electronic travel aids that utilize these cues, in conjunction with rangefinding sensors, to achieve this intuitive extension of discernible space. These devices can be used either as generalized navigation aids or in specific situations, such as for seeking out physical landmarks on the other side of a street to facilitate crossing. We will address force and torque cues separately in this study to determine their individual roles in spatial perception as applied to navigation as well as obstacle detection and avoidance. We will perform experiments and develop devices tailored to each of the two types of cues. Both types of devices will then be evaluated in a common set of tasks to facilitate comparisons. Since this research on electronic travel aids builds on principles derived from the most effective travel aid in use, it promises a significant enhancement of navigation capabilities of the visually impaired, with associated effects on independence and quality of life.