Shape-changing device helps visually impaired people perform location task as well as sighted people

Researchers at Imperial College London, working with MakeSense Technology and the Bravo Victor charity, have developed a shape-shifting device called Shape that can help visually impaired people navigate through tactile perception, that is, people understand information about objects through touch. Way. The device, which looks like a flashlight, bends to indicate where people need to move and straightens when the user is facing the correct direction.

In a study published in natural science reportsresearchers tested the ability of visually impaired people to locate objects in a 3D virtual reality (VR) space using shape and vibration feedback technology, which is commonly used to help visually impaired people navigate. The study also recruited sighted people to use only their natural vision to locate objects in VR space.

Dr Ad Spiers from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London, lead researcher on the study, said: “What’s exciting about this study is that we have successfully demonstrated that Shape can help people with visual impairments perform navigation tasks, something we have previously demonstrated Never seen on other navigation devices.

“The shape is unusual because it taps into our ability to understand information through touch, which transcends vibrations. Humans have an innate ability to feel and interpret shapes through our hands without the need to concentrate attention.

The study compared the results of 10 participants with visual impairment and 10 participants with normal vision, testing their ability to locate objects as quickly as possible in a controlled indoor environment, measuring the time required to locate virtual targets and the time required to locate these targets. efficiency.

The trial found no significant difference in performance between visually impaired participants using Shape and sighted participants using only natural vision. The study also found that visually impaired participants were able to locate objects faster using Shape than using vibration technology. Feedback showed that participants with visual impairments preferred the use of shape vibration technology.

It is hoped that this device, considered the most advanced of its kind, will be the future of navigation technology for the visually impaired, as the Shape device offers significant advantages over the tools currently used to guide the visually impaired.

Dr. Robert Quinn, CEO of MakeSense Technology, said: “The impressive results of this study demonstrate the huge potential of this technology to improve the lives and mobility of people with visual impairments.

“Based on the research described in this article, MakeSense is developing a blind pathfinding product that leverages recent advances in spatial artificial intelligence and computer vision without the need for interpretation training. We aim to launch our first product from the end of 2019 .

Currently, people with visual impairments most commonly use assistive devices such as white canes or guide dogs. While guide dogs are often effective, they require expensive specialist training and can cost thousands of pounds a year to keep. The white cane enables navigation of the elimination process by telling the user where not to go rather than where to go. This process limits the user’s ability to freely navigate complex environments.

Recent technological developments have tended to focus on the use of auditory interfaces, which provide audio prompts such as “turn left at the next corner,” or vibration feedback that alerts the user through vibration patterns that indicate movement location.

Auditory interfaces prevent people from hearing important warning sounds of imminent danger and impair the user’s ability to fully participate in the world. Vibration feedback can cause numbness after prolonged use, and research shows that users can quickly become irritated and distracted by frequent vibration sensations.

To test Shape’s performance against vibration technology and natural sight in a controlled environment, the researchers designed real-world navigation simulations to reduce the possibility of significant changes between experiments.

In real-world navigation scenarios, conditions are expected to change significantly due to weather changes and the presence of other pedestrians or objects. It is also expected that in real-world scenarios there will typically be multiple potential target options, rather than the single target presented individually in experiments.

Further research is needed to understand how the Shape device performs in more variable real-world scenarios.

The Shape device has been developed in partnership with MakeSense Technology, a start-up co-founded at Imperial College by Dr Robert Quinn, a PhD graduate in mechanical engineering from Imperial College. The company is supported in its early stages by Imperial’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, which aims to develop innovative solutions with the potential to make the world a better place.

After completing the Shape study, MakeSense worked to further develop the technology for use in real-world outdoor navigation. It is hoped that the device will be put into practical use in real-world settings within the next few years.

The research published in Nature Scientific Reports was funded by an Innovate UK SMART grant awarded to MakeSense Technology Ltd, Bravo Victor and Imperial College London.