Mobility and orientation aid for blind persons using artificial vision

Costa, Gustavo G.L.; Gusberti, Adrián; Graffigna, Juan Pablo; Guzzo, Martin; Nasisi, Oscar

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/90/1/012090

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Instead, they provide the user with a limited amount of task‐specific information. Examples are the navigational devices that provide directional information and the obstacle detectors that estimate the position of objects to alert the user to undertake evasive action . Vibrotactile devices capable of delivering more complex information typically make use of higher‐density displays .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Training Improves Vibrotactile Spatial Acuity and Intensity Discrimination on the Lower Back Using Coin Motors

et al. 2017

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Tactile vision substitution devices are assistive technologies for the blind that redirect visual information to the tactile sense. They typically include a tactile display that conveys visual information to the skin. Two important parameters that determine the maximum information bandwidth of tactile displays are the spatial acuity of the skin, and the ability of the user to discriminate between stimulus intensities. These two parameters were investigated by determining the two-point discrimination (TPD) threshold and the just-noticeable intensity difference (JND) using coin motors on the lower back. Coin motors are eccentric rotating-mass motors that are affordable, energy-efficient, and easy to implement. The lower back was chosen because it is a discreet place to wear assistive technology. It is generally available for use, as it is usually not critically involved in activities of daily living. Rehabilitation with sensory substitution devices often requires training by professional occupational therapists, because the user needs to extract visual information from sparse information presented through an alternative channel such as the skin. In this study they determined whether short, automated training sessions of 5 min each could improve the TPD threshold and JND. It was found that 10 min of computer-assisted training improved the vibrotactile TPD threshold on the lower back by 36%, and that 18 min of training improved the just-noticeable intensity difference (JND) by 44%. It was concluded that short, automated training sessions could provide a fast and inexpensive means to improve people's basic spatial acuity and intensity discrimination skills with coin motors.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Training Improves Vibrotactile Spatial Acuity and Intensity Discrimination on the Lower Back Using Coin Motors

et al. 2017

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“…A stereo camera configuration is described in [8], that conveys depth information by means of a tactile interface and requires the user, over time, to learn to associate patterns of tactile stimuli with corresponding objects. This approach leverages the concept of sensory substitution [3], which is a mechanism by which characteristics of one sensory modality (in this case, vision) are transformed into stimuli of another sensory modality (touch).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This approach leverages the concept of sensory substitution [3], which is a mechanism by which characteristics of one sensory modality (in this case, vision) are transformed into stimuli of another sensory modality (touch). However, the system proposed in [8] can be expected to impose significant training time and cognitive load on the user due to the non-semantic nature of the information conveyed. The ASMONC system described in [22] integrates stereo vision with sonar sensors to derive high level information that requires less interpretation and is more meaningful for navigation.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robot vision for the visually impaired

Pradeep

Medioni

Weiland

2010

2010 IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition - Workshops

105

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We present a head-mounted, stereo-vision based navigational assistance device for the visually impaired. The headmounted design enables our subjects to stand and scan the scene for integrating wide-field information, compared to shoulder or waist-mounted designs in literature which require body rotations. In order to extract and maintain orientation information for creating a sense of egocentricity in blind users, we incorporate visual odometry and feature based metric-topological SLAM into our system. Using camera pose estimates with dense 3D data obtained from stereo triangulation, we build a vicinity map of the user's environment. On this map, we perform 3D traversability analysis to steer subjects away from obstacles in the path. A tactile interface consisting of microvibration motors provides cues for taking evasive action, as determined by our vision processing algorithms. We report experimental results of our system (running at 10 Hz) and conduct mobility tests with blindfolded subjects to demonstrate the usefulness of our approach over conventional navigational aids like the white cane.

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“…Of which, the Artificial Vision Systems is closely related to this project [2]. We are proposing the replacement of the stereoscopic vision with the Kinect.…”

Section: Background and Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%