Novel Wrist-Worn Vibrotactile Device for Providing Multi-Categorical Information for Orientation and Mobility of the Blind and Visually Impaired

Abstract

Considering the ambulatory principles for the blind and visually impaired individuals (BVI), who encounter difficulties in independent walking and wayfinding, the acquisition of diverse types of information is required. For independent walking, the spatial and status information are required in addition to directional information. However, delivering information of several types poses a problem because it decreases the perception rate of the information. To address this problem, we applied a strategy that configures the group of vibrotactile information by combining both stationary and moving tactons, as opposed to using stationary or moving alone. In this study, we introduce a novel wrist-worn tactile display with eight vibrators, which can deliver easily distinguishable directional, spatial, and status information. For improving the recognition rate of information provided, the vibration patterns were categorized according to spatial characteristics and were provided to express the different types of information. Through the preliminary study, it was confirmed that the capacity of information transmission improved significantly when employing a combination of stationary and moving tactons, as opposed to relying solely on stationary or moving tactons. The effectiveness of the proposed device was evaluated through user tests with the blind and visually impaired participants. Overall, the categorized vibrotactile information was quickly identified, and it enabled the blind to walk independently without any pre-learned knowledge about the route.