Vibrotactile Guidance for Wayfinding of Blind Walkers

• Published in: IEEE transactions on haptics Vol. 8; no. 3; pp. 306 - 317
• Main Authors: Flores, German, Kurniawan, Sri, Manduchi, Roberto, Martinson, Eric, Morales, Lourdes M., Sisbot, Emrah Akin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01-07-2015; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Acoustics; Adult; Algorithms; Assistive technology; Auditory Perception - physiology; Belts; Blindness - rehabilitation; Blinds; Completion time; DC motors; Deviation; Environmental audits; Equipment Design; Expenses; Female; Global Positioning System; haptic belt; Haptic interfaces; Haptics; Humans; Legged locomotion; Locomotion - physiology; Male; Qualitative analysis; Self-Help Devices; Sensory Aids; Touch; User-Computer Interface; Vibrations; Visually Impaired Persons - rehabilitation; Walking; Wayfinding; haptic belt; Assistive technology; wayfinding
• ISSN: 1939-1412; 2329-4051
• DOI: 10.1109/TOH.2015.2409980

We propose a vibrotactile interface in the form of a belt for guiding blind walkers. This interface enables blind walkers to receive haptic directional instructions along complex paths without negatively impacting users' ability to listen and/or perceive the environment the way some auditory directional instructions do. The belt interface was evaluated in a controlled study with 10 blind individuals and compared to the audio guidance. The experiments were videotaped and the participants' behaviors and comments were content analyzed. Completion times and deviations from ideal paths were also collected and statistically analyzed. By triangulating the quantitative and qualitative data, we found that the belt resulted in closer path following to the expense of speed. In general, the participants were positive about the use of vibrotactile belt to provide directional guidance.