Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States.
Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States.
Curr Med Imaging. 2020;16(5):601-610. doi: 10.2174/1573405615666190423141647.
Echolocation is a technique whereby the location of objects is determined via reflected sound. Currently, some visually impaired individuals use a form of echolocation to locate objects and to orient themselves. However, this method takes years of practice to accurately utilize.
This paper presents the development of a sensory substitution device for visually impaired users, which gauged distances and the placement of objects.
Using ultrasonic technology, the device employed a method of echolocation to increase the user's independence and mobility. The main components of this device are an ultrasound transceiver and a miniaturized Arduino board. Through research and prototyping, this technology was integrated into a biomedical application in a watch form factor which provides feedback to the user regarding the measured distance by the ultrasonic transducer.
The output of this process is a tactile feedback that varies in intensity proportional to the distance of the detected object. We tested the device in different scenarios including different distances from a different material. The difference between the device reading and the actual distance, from 0 to 400 cm was statistically insignificant.
It is believed this device will boost the confidence of the user in navigation.
回声定位是一种通过反射声音来确定物体位置的技术。目前，一些视障人士使用一种回声定位的形式来定位物体和确定自身方位。然而，这种方法需要多年的实践才能准确地使用。
本文提出了一种用于视障用户的感觉替代设备的开发，该设备可以测量距离和物体的位置。
该设备使用超声技术，采用回声定位的方法来提高用户的独立性和移动性。该设备的主要组成部分是一个超声波收发器和一个小型化的 Arduino 板。通过研究和原型制作，这项技术被整合到一个手表形式的生物医学应用中，为用户提供关于超声换能器测量距离的反馈。
这个过程的输出是一种触觉反馈，其强度与检测到的物体的距离成正比。我们在不同的场景中测试了该设备，包括不同距离和不同材料。该设备的读数与实际距离的差异在 0 到 400 厘米之间，统计学上无显著差异。
我们相信，这种设备将增强用户在导航中的信心。
