Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Navigation aid for the blind (self.Blind)
submitted by serge--m
I work on a device that could help visually impaired people to navigate in the streets and inside the buildings.
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The prototype is described in full in the research from 2009: $1
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The idea is pretty simple. Imagine a set of 100 pins arranged into the matrix 10x10. This array is attached to your palm. Each pin can either touch your palm or not. Thus we have a tactile display where each pin represents one pixel. The device takes the image from the camera attached, processes it and transmit it to the array of pins.
The nearest objects are encoded as "ones". The corresponding pins are touching the palm. The further objects are encoded as "zeros". Pins are OFF for them.
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Therefore you have a tactile representation of the image from the camera on your palm.
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You can move the camera and get an immediate response on your palm. Therefore you can "touch" the objects from the different angles, estimate the distance/shape.
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I think the device can augment or extend the functionality of the white canes or dogs.
As far as I know, there is no such device available for the purchase.
Do you have an idea why? Could it be useful for the blind?
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​
The prototype is described in full in the research from 2009: $1
​
The idea is pretty simple. Imagine a set of 100 pins arranged into the matrix 10x10. This array is attached to your palm. Each pin can either touch your palm or not. Thus we have a tactile display where each pin represents one pixel. The device takes the image from the camera attached, processes it and transmit it to the array of pins.
The nearest objects are encoded as "ones". The corresponding pins are touching the palm. The further objects are encoded as "zeros". Pins are OFF for them.
​
Therefore you have a tactile representation of the image from the camera on your palm.
​
You can move the camera and get an immediate response on your palm. Therefore you can "touch" the objects from the different angles, estimate the distance/shape.
​
I think the device can augment or extend the functionality of the white canes or dogs.
As far as I know, there is no such device available for the purchase.
Do you have an idea why? Could it be useful for the blind?
​
-shacklebolt- 2 points 4y ago
The answer to literally every other similar device:
Expensive, cumbersome, doesn't provide enough or meaningful information to be worth the hassle, not needed.
There have been too many attempts to count, and virtually none of them have approached anything close to commercial production much less commercial success. There is no single obstacle-alerting device aside from a cane and guide dog that has gained more than fringe use in the blind/VI community.
Expensive, cumbersome, doesn't provide enough or meaningful information to be worth the hassle, not needed.
There have been too many attempts to count, and virtually none of them have approached anything close to commercial production much less commercial success. There is no single obstacle-alerting device aside from a cane and guide dog that has gained more than fringe use in the blind/VI community.
serge--m [OP] 1 points 4y ago
Got it. Thanks for explaining!
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