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Electrical and Electronic Engineerin

Development of a Tactile Thimble for Augmented and Virtual Reality Applications

The technologies that have gained a renewed interest during the recent years are Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), as they become more accessible and affordable for mass-production. The input device which allows us to interact with the virtual environment is a very crucial aspect. One of the main barriers to immerse ourselves in virtual reality is the lack of realistic feedback. The user has to almost rely entirely on visual feedback without any haptic feedback, and this increases the user's workload and decreases the performance. In this thesis, a functional demonstrator of a tactile feedback device which conveys compelling interactions with not just VR, but also AR is presented. The device is designed such that there is realistic feedback for virtual touches and least obstruction during contact of a real object in AR applications. New design principle of introducing small actuators allows the device to be compact and increases its portability. In contrast to actuators that are placed on the finger pad in most of the available input devices for VR, a tactile device with two actuators that are arranged laterally on the finger, so that the underside of the fingertip is free is proposed. The output from these actuators generate a tactile stimulus by stimulating a sense of touch, which helps the user to manipulate virtual objects. The actuators are designed to independently generate vibrations and this coupled tactile feedback enhances the stimulation resulting in a wide variety of stimulation patterns for the sense of touch. Preliminary experimental evaluation for design and location of actuators has been carried out to measure the vibration intensity. In addition, user experiments for design evaluation of the two actuators based on different vibration patterns have also been conducted

GPS Technology to Aid the Blind and Partially Sighted in Copenhagen, Denmark

This project, jointly sponsored in Copenhagen by the Danish Association of the Blind (DBS) and the Euman Company, assessed the feasibility of using Euman\u27s LifePilot GPS technology for blind and partially sighted individuals. After conducting literature research as well as surveys and focus groups, the team concluded that there is a potential for Euman technology, currently being developed, and an overall need for navigational aids, and recommended a variety of features for a GPS based device that would prove useful in the visually impaired community

Desarrollo de un módulo lector braille electrónico para personas con discapacidad visual orientado a portabilidad y ergonomía

En la actualidad el lenguaje braille, es una forma de comunicación que permite a las personas con discapacidad visual, no solo leer y escribir, sino también desenvolverse de mejor manera en la sociedad, sin embargo, en cuanto a lo que es lectura se refiere, surgen unas series de complicaciones que van desde el tamaño que pueden llegar a tener los textos en braille, hasta la escasa producción de los mismos, limitando así en gran medida el desarrollo de la lectura en braille. De esta forma es que se desarrolló el módulo lector braille, el cual consta de un sistema que permitirá a las personas con discapacidad visual desarrollar la lectura en braille de cualquier texto que ellos deseen, este módulo funciona por medio de celdas braille que se encargaran de traducir e interpretar el texto digital en formato braille, esto permitirá al usuario no solo la lectura, sino que a su vez incentivara a las practica y el aprendizaje del lenguaje braille. Este módulo lector braille brindara al usuario un completo control sobre el texto que se está traduciendo, permitiendo así al usuario avanzar o retroceder sobre el mismo a la velocidad que mejor se adapte a él. Además, este módulo basa su diseño en la portabilidad y ergonomía, buscando convertirse en un aparato electrónico el cual se pueda llevar a todas partes con la mayor facilidad y comodidad.En la actualidad el lenguaje braille, es una forma de comunicación que permite a las personas con discapacidad visual, no solo leer y escribir, sino también desenvolverse de mejor manera en la sociedad, sin embargo, en cuanto a lo que es lectura se refiere, surgen unas series de complicaciones que van desde el tamaño que pueden llegar a tener los textos en braille, hasta la escasa producción de los mismos, limitando así en gran medida el desarrollo de la lectura en braille. De esta forma es que se desarrolló el módulo lector braille, el cual consta de un sistema que permitirá a las personas con discapacidad visual desarrollar la lectura en braille de cualquier texto que ellos deseen, este módulo funciona por medio de celdas braille que se encargaran de traducir e interpretar el texto digital en formato braille, esto permitirá al usuario no solo la lectura, sino que a su vez incentivara a las practica y el aprendizaje del lenguaje braille. Este módulo lector braille brindara al usuario un completo control sobre el texto que se está traduciendo, permitiendo así al usuario avanzar o retroceder sobre el mismo a la velocidad que mejor se adapte a él. Además, este módulo basa su diseño en la portabilidad y ergonomía, buscando convertirse en un aparato electrónico el cual se pueda llevar a todas partes con la mayor facilidad y comodidad

Fine-grained Haptics: Sensing and Actuating Haptic Primary Colours (force, vibration, and temperature)

This thesis discusses the development of a multimodal, fine-grained visual-haptic system for teleoperation and robotic applications. This system is primarily composed of two complementary components: an input device known as the HaptiTemp sensor (combines “Haptics” and “Temperature”), which is a novel thermosensitive GelSight-like sensor, and an output device, an untethered multimodal finegrained haptic glove. The HaptiTemp sensor is a visuotactile sensor that can sense haptic primary colours known as force, vibration, and temperature. It has novel switchable UV markers that can be made visible using UV LEDs. The switchable markers feature is a real novelty of the HaptiTemp because it can be used in the analysis of tactile information from gel deformation without impairing the ability to classify or recognise images. The use of switchable markers in the HaptiTemp sensor is the solution to the trade-off between marker density and capturing high-resolution images using one sensor. The HaptiTemp sensor can measure vibrations by counting the number of blobs or pulses detected per unit time using a blob detection algorithm. For the first time, temperature detection was incorporated into a GelSight-like sensor, making the HaptiTemp sensor a haptic primary colours sensor. The HaptiTemp sensor can also do rapid temperature sensing with a 643 ms response time for the 31°C to 50°C temperature range. This fast temperature response of the HaptiTemp sensor is comparable to the withdrawal reflex response in humans. This is the first time a sensor can trigger a sensory impulse that can mimic a human reflex in the robotic community. The HaptiTemp sensor can also do simultaneous temperature sensing and image classification using a machine vision camera—the OpenMV Cam H7 Plus. This capability of simultaneous sensing and image classification has not been reported or demonstrated by any tactile sensor. The HaptiTemp sensor can be used in teleoperation because it can communicate or transmit tactile analysis and image classification results using wireless communication. The HaptiTemp sensor is the closest thing to the human skin in tactile sensing, tactile pattern recognition, and rapid temperature response. In order to feel what the HaptiTemp sensor is touching from a distance, a corresponding output device, an untethered multimodal haptic hand wearable, is developed to actuate the haptic primary colours sensed by the HaptiTemp sensor. This wearable can communicate wirelessly and has fine-grained cutaneous feedback to feel the edges or surfaces of the tactile images captured by the HaptiTemp sensor. This untethered multimodal haptic hand wearable has gradient kinesthetic force feedback that can restrict finger movements based on the force estimated by the HaptiTemp sensor. A retractable string from an ID badge holder equipped with miniservos that control the stiffness of the wire is attached to each fingertip to restrict finger movements. Vibrations detected by the HaptiTemp sensor can be actuated by the tapping motion of the tactile pins or by a buzzing minivibration motor. There is also a tiny annular Peltier device, or ThermoElectric Generator (TEG), with a mini-vibration motor, forming thermo-vibro feedback in the palm area that can be activated by a ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ signal from the HaptiTemp sensor. The haptic primary colours can also be embedded in a VR environment that can be actuated by the multimodal hand wearable. A VR application was developed to demonstrate rapid tactile actuation of edges, allowing the user to feel the contours of virtual objects. Collision detection scripts were embedded to activate the corresponding actuator in the multimodal haptic hand wearable whenever the tactile matrix simulator or hand avatar in VR collides with a virtual object. The TEG also gets warm or cold depending on the virtual object the participant has touched. Tests were conducted to explore virtual objects in 2D and 3D environments using Leap Motion control and a VR headset (Oculus Quest 2). Moreover, a fine-grained cutaneous feedback was developed to feel the edges or surfaces of a tactile image, such as the tactile images captured by the HaptiTemp sensor, or actuate tactile patterns in 2D or 3D virtual objects. The prototype is like an exoskeleton glove with 16 tactile actuators (tactors) on each fingertip, 80 tactile pins in total, made from commercially available P20 Braille cells. Each tactor can be controlled individually to enable the user to feel the edges or surfaces of images, such as the high-resolution tactile images captured by the HaptiTemp sensor. This hand wearable can be used to enhance the immersive experience in a virtual reality environment. The tactors can be actuated in a tapping manner, creating a distinct form of vibration feedback as compared to the buzzing vibration produced by a mini-vibration motor. The tactile pin height can also be varied, creating a gradient of pressure on the fingertip. Finally, the integration of the high-resolution HaptiTemp sensor, and the untethered multimodal, fine-grained haptic hand wearable is presented, forming a visuotactile system for sensing and actuating haptic primary colours. Force, vibration, and temperature sensing tests with corresponding force, vibration, and temperature actuating tests have demonstrated a unified visual-haptic system. Aside from sensing and actuating haptic primary colours, touching the edges or surfaces of the tactile images captured by the HaptiTemp sensor was carried out using the fine-grained cutaneous feedback of the haptic hand wearable

Évaluation d’un jeu sérieux exploitant un joystick permettant des interations non-visuelles à l'aide d’une canne intelligente

Le pourcentage de la population présentant une déficience visuelle augmente rapidement. Chaque année, le nombre de personnes à déficience visuelle croît d'environ 2 millions dans le monde. L'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS) estime qu'il y a 39 millions d'aveugles et 246 millions personnes à déficience visuelle sur la planète. De plus, les déficiences visuelles sont fortement reliées au vieillissement. Environ 63% des personnes à déficience visuelle sont âgées de 50 ans ou plus, avec environ 20% de la population mondiale dans ce groupe d‟âge. Pour parvenir à certains niveaux d‟autonomie, la canne blanche est l‟outil qu‟utilise cette tranche de la population. Hors, plusieurs études ont montré que cet outil semble constituer un symbole de discrimination pour ces personnes. Notre recherche entend offrir un outil qui vise non seulement à donner de l‟autonomie aux aveugles mais aussi à amener les personnes voyantes à changer leur point de vue concernant cette population. Sachant que la canne blanche reste l‟outil le plus utilisée par les personnes souffrant de déficience visuelle, nous avons intégré plusieurs senseurs (capteurs de position, accéléromètre etc) dans un bâton (canne blanche) afin de le transformer en ce que nous dénommons une manette pour aveugle. Cet outil permet essentiellement de détecter les gestes que l‟on fait avec l‟outil et aussi de communiquer avec un téléphone intelligent. En plus de cela, nous proposons un jeu qui utilise cette manette comme principal moyen d‟interaction. Ce jeu permet en autre à des personnes voyantes et non-voyantes de pouvoir jouer au même jeu en utilisant les mêmes moyens d‟interaction. Cette problématique a été abordée sous deux volets : la création de la canne et le développement du jeu sérieux. Phase 1 : C‟est la réalisation de la canne intelligente, la canne est composée d‟un accéléromètre, d‟un clavier et d‟un détecteur à ultra son. La fonction de base ce celle-ci est de permettre une détection des obstacles se trouvant sur le chemin de l‟utilisateur, et ce, à l‟aide d‟un détecteur ultra son. Celui-ci, relié à un téléphone intelligent, avertira l‟aveugle de la distance exacte entre lui et l‟obstacle. Cette option sera activable selon le bon vouloir de l‟utilisateur pour ne pas offrir un surplus d‟information inutilisable. Phase 2 : La conception d‟un jeu spécialisé pertinent et sérieux, directement relié à la canne, représente le défi fondamental du projet. Le but est d‟élaborer un jeu intéressant, pouvant se jouer de n‟importe quelle place et directement à l‟aide de la canne. L‟utilisation du clavier comme interface est donc évidemment nécessaire. La connexion déjà établie avec le téléphone intelligent offre de nombreuses possibilités quant à la nature du jeu. L‟objectif est de créer un jeu stimulant pour rejoindre l‟intérêt de l‟utilisateur, mais tout de même assez simple dans son fonctionnement pour pouvoir être joué uniquement sur le clavier de 12 cases. L‟absence de possibilité de stimulation tactile, comme l‟offrent beaucoup de jeu pour aveugles et malvoyants, et la limitation dans les stimulations sonores compliquent grandement les tâches et ne laissent que très peu de possibilités de jeu. En résumé, les travaux de ce mémoire présentent les bases pour l'utilisation d'une canne intelligente visant à développer un jeu sérieux qui utilise cet outil comme moyen d‟interaction dans le but d'améliorer le reflex de l‟aveugle. De plus, notre outil va lui faire oublier son handicap, vu qu‟il va avoir la même chance de gagner contre un concurrent voyant

Electronic Smart Canes for Visually Impaired People

Στα πλαίσια αυτής της εργασίας, έγινε μια εκτενής ανασκόπηση με τις σημαντικότερες και πιο πρόσφατες τεχνολογίες «έξυπνων» μπαστουνιών για τυφλούς και άτομα με απώλεια όρασης. Σε αυτή την ανασκόπηση περιλαμβάνονται τα πιο πρόσφατα ερευνητικά αποτελέσματα της διεθνούς επιστημονικής βιβλιογραφίας, σχετικές πατέντες αλλά και τα εμπορικά διαθέσιμα προϊόντα. Για κάθε μία από αυτές τις συσκευές περιγράφεται περιληπτικά η αρχή λειτουργίας της που συνοδεύεται από το πρωτότυπο του συστήματος. Στη συνέχεια, οι συσκευές ταξινομούνται σύμφωνα με τις τεχνολογίες που χρησιμοποιούν και τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά τους, ενώ παρουσιάζονται επιπλέον πληροφορίες σχετικά με τις ερευνητικές δοκιμασίες με χρήστες που διεξήχθησαν και τα αποτελέσματά τους. Το συμπέρασμα που προκύπτει είναι ότι πολλά από τα συστήματα υποβοήθησης των τυφλών προσφέρουν περιορισμένες δυνατότητες και άλλα μπορούν να επιτύχουν εν μέρει την απαιτούμενη ακρίβεια. Κανένα, όμως, από αυτά δεν πληροί όλα τα απαραίτητα και θεμελιώδη χαρακτηριστικά που θα καθιστούσαν κάποια συσκευή ιδανική ως προς τη χρήση της. Αυτή η εργασία, λοιπόν, φανερώνει την πρόοδο της τεχνολογίας σε αυτό το επιστημονικό πεδίο, το πού βρίσκεται σήμερα και πού οδεύει με την εξέλιξή της και τονίζει, εμμέσως, την ανάγκη σχεδίασης συσκευών που εξασφαλίζουν πλήρως την ασφάλεια και την ανεξαρτησία των τυφλών και των ατόμων με απώλεια όρασης.In the context of this work, an extensive review was carried out with the most important and latest technologies of smart sticks for blind and visually impaired people. This review includes the most recent research results of international scientific literature, relevant patents and commercially available products. For each of these devices, the operating principle is briefly described and it is accompanied by the prototype of the system. The devices are then sorted according to the technologies they use and their basic features, while additional information is provided on the user research trials and their results. The resulting conclusion is that many of the blind aid systems offer limited capabilities, and others can achieve the required precision in part. None of these, however, fulfills all the essential and fundamental features that would make a device ideal for its use. This work, therefore, reveals the advancement of technology in this scientific field, where it is today and where it is progressing with its development, and indirectly emphasizes the need for designing devices that fully guarantee the safety and independence of the blind and visually impaired people

Accessible library services for people with disabilities: model for Korean libraries.

Particularly the past two decades have witnessed the integration of people with disabilities into mainstream society. This is one of the top political issues in many countries. For a long time disabled people have been excluded from mainstream education, employment and various community activities on the grounds of individual disabilities. As a result many of them have been left unproductive and dependent. That society to some extent has a negative attitude towards disabled people cannot be disputed. Until recently all attention to disabled people had focussed on their physical wellbeing rather than on how to integrate them effectively into mainstream society. This negative attitude coupled with less integration has in many respects prevented disabled people from developing their potential and using their ability to live an independent life. In this respect library services for disabled people are regarded as part of the integration of disabled people into mainstream society. Especially public libraries can be seen as the most important institutes for the integration of disabled people into society. The purpose of this research is to identify current problems faced by mainstream libraries for the provision of library services for disabled people and also to present practical solutions that are appropriate to the Korean situation. Although the study covers other disabilities such as hearing and mobility impairment, it is mainly concerned with visual impairment. Visually impaired people are the most disadvantaged in libraries because they are unable to read printed materials.For purpose of data collection, the study relied on literature review, observation and interview. The study is organised into three parts. The first part outlines the background information about the integration of disabled people, the characteristics and difficulties of disabled people, and the development of library services for disabled people from earliest time to the present. The second part presents the findings of research in the areas of physical, technological and human factors. The last part proposes solutions to problems and draws conclusions. The emphasis throughout the study is to create awareness among library professionals in Korea about the need of library services for disabled people in mainstream libraries