A Low-Cost, Variable-Amplitude Haptic Distributed Display for Persons who are Blind and Visually Impaired

摘要

Previously in our lab, we developed a low-cost mouse-like device that has high position accuracy, very good temporal and spatial collocation between kinesthetic and tactile information, a fairly large temporal bandwidth and a short time delay. However, it can still be limiting when generating texture-like patterns. We have therefore extended the function of the device to be able to vary the amplitude as well, while maintaining its low cost (under $500). Various virtual textures have been developed which can be used to create salient graphics that can be perceived through this device. Preliminary investigations suggest that having multiple amplitude levels increases the number of distinguishable textures as well as the amount of information that can be displayed.