Designing Haptic Assistive Technology for Individuals Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

IEEE Transactions on Haptics
Dianne T PawlukRyo Kitada

Abstract

This paper considers issues relevant for the design and use of haptic technology for assistive devices for individuals who are blind or visually impaired in some of the major areas of importance: Braille reading, tactile graphics, orientation and mobility. We show that there is a wealth of behavioral research that is highly applicable to assistive technology design. In a few cases, conclusions from behavioral experiments have been directly applied to design with positive results. Differences in brain organization and performance capabilities between individuals who are "early blind" and "late blind" from using the same tactile/haptic accommodations, such as the use of Braille, suggest the importance of training and assessing these groups individually. Practical restrictions on device design, such as performance limitations of the technology and cost, raise questions as to which aspects of these restrictions are truly important to overcome to achieve high performance. In general, this raises the question of what it means to provide functional equivalence as opposed to sensory equivalence.

References

Dec 1, 1976·Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology·G D Mower
Apr 1, 1992·Cognition·P Mousty, P Bertelson
Jan 1, 1990·Perception & Psychophysics·S J LedermanC D Summers
Sep 1, 1989·American Journal of Otolaryngology·T Maeyama, K H Plattig
Nov 1, 1986·Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance·J I Kahn, D H Foster
Mar 1, 1987·Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior·S Millar
May 1, 1985·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. A, Human Experimental Psychology·P BertelsonG D'Alimonte
Jan 1, 1969·Transactions of the Pacific Coast Oto-Ophthalmological Society Annual Meeting·P Bach-y-RitaL Scadden
Apr 1, 1982·IEEE Transactions on Bio-medical Engineering·J A Brabyn
Jan 1, 1981·Perception & Psychophysics·J M Loomis
Oct 1, 1993·Acta Psychologica·S J Lederman, R L Klatzky
Aug 1, 1993·Perception & Psychophysics·R L KlatzkyN Fujita
Dec 29, 1998·Scandinavian Journal of Psychology·R Campbell
Sep 25, 1999·IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering : a Publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society·J P Fritz, K E Barner
Sep 28, 1999·Perception & Psychophysics·S Lakatos, L E Marks
Jul 6, 2000·Neurology·R W Van BovenA Pascual-Leone
May 29, 2002·NeuroImage·Norihiro SadatoYoshiharu Yonekura
Oct 3, 2002·Behavioural Brain Research·Charles Spence
Jun 6, 2003·Perception·Morton A HellerDeneen D Brackett
Dec 3, 2003·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Paul Bach-y-Rita, Stephen W Kercel
Jan 24, 2004·Current Biology : CB·Brigitte RöderCharles Spence
Apr 21, 2004·Perception & Psychophysics·Susanna Millar, Zainab Al-Attar
Sep 28, 2004·Human Brain Mapping·Harold BurtonDonald G McLaren
Mar 15, 2005·Ergonomics·Jan Van Erp
Apr 6, 2006·Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development·Wei Liu, Hui Tang
Apr 18, 2007·IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering : a Publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society·Fernando Vidal-Verdú, Moustapha Hafez
Jun 24, 2008·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Zaira CattaneoPietro Pietrini
Aug 21, 2008·IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering : a Publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society·Jay P WarrenStephen I Helms Tillery
Oct 16, 2008·Brain : a Journal of Neurology·Madeleine FortinFranco Lepore
Apr 14, 2009·Nature Neuroscience·Line S LökenHåkan Olausson
Aug 5, 2009·Hearing Research·Kirsten Hötting, Brigitte Röder
Aug 22, 2009·Somatosensory & Motor Research·Cecil A LozanoMarco Santello
Apr 7, 2010·IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering : a Publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society·Ravi RastogiJessica M Ketchum
Jul 10, 2010·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Ron KupersMaurice Ptito

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

May 16, 2017·IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering : a Publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society·Kurt A KaczmarekSteven J Haase
Jun 8, 2018·IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems·Cheikh Latyr FallBenoit Gosselin
Jun 22, 2018·IEEE Transactions on Haptics·Paul PhamduyMaurizio Porfiri
Jan 30, 2018·IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems·Ali JafariTinoosh Mohsenin
Jul 10, 2020·Disability and Rehabilitation. Assistive Technology·Lil DeverellDenny Meyer
Jun 27, 2019·Biomedical Engineering Online·Francisco YandunCecilia Auat Cheein

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.