Quinn Robert, Murtough Stephen, de Winton Henry, Ellis-Frew Brandon, Zane Sebastiano, De Sousa Jonathan, Kempapidis Theofilos, Gomes Renata S M, Spiers Adam J
MakeSense Technology Ltd, London, UK.
Manipulation and Touch Lab, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 10;14(1):29223. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-79845-7.
Individuals with visual impairment (VI) require aids such as white canes and guide dogs to navigate their environments. Modern localisation technologies have the capacity to transform the way individuals with VI navigate surroundings, but they have yet to do so. A critical barrier is the inability of human-machine interfaces to communicate precise navigation instructions non-visually. We present a shape changing haptic interface (Shape) that provides spatial guidance in two dimensions via bending of its body. Individuals with VI and sighted individuals were recruited to locate virtual targets in 3D space using Shape and vibration feedback (Vibration), and sighted individuals were also asked to visually locate targets. Throughout, device orientation and position were tracked in real-time using a virtual reality system. Individuals with VI located targets significantly faster and more efficiently using Shape, than with Vibration, and there were no significant differences in time or efficiency between Shape and natural vision. Moreover, participants scored Shape significantly more positively than Vibration in a Likert user experience survey, while no significant differences were observed between Shape and natural vision. Here, we provide compelling evidence for the application of a new shape-changing haptic interface as part of an effective future digital navigation system for individuals with VI.
视力障碍者需要借助白手杖和导盲犬等辅助工具在周围环境中通行。现代定位技术有能力改变视力障碍者在周围环境中通行的方式，但目前尚未实现这一点。一个关键障碍是人机界面无法以非视觉方式传达精确的导航指令。我们展示了一种形状可改变的触觉界面（Shape），它通过自身弯曲在二维空间中提供空间引导。招募了视力障碍者和视力正常者，让他们使用Shape和振动反馈（Vibration）在三维空间中定位虚拟目标，还要求视力正常者通过视觉定位目标。在整个过程中，使用虚拟现实系统实时跟踪设备的方向和位置。视力障碍者使用Shape定位目标的速度明显更快且效率更高，比使用Vibration时要好，并且Shape与自然视觉在时间或效率上没有显著差异。此外，在李克特用户体验调查中，参与者对Shape的评分明显高于Vibration，而Shape与自然视觉之间未观察到显著差异。在此，我们为一种新型形状可改变的触觉界面作为未来视力障碍者有效数字导航系统的一部分的应用提供了有力证据。
