Title : 
Presenting the sense of distance by air stimulation to develop an assistive device for the visually impaired
         
        
            Author : 
Asonuma, Miki ; Wada, Chikamune
         
        
            Author_Institution : 
Graduate Sch. of life Sci. & Syst. Eng., Kyushu Inst. of Technol., Iizuka
         
        
        
        
        
            Abstract : 
In this paper, we propose a device that indicates the direction of an obstacle that is encroaching into the path of a visually impaired person who is walking. Our proposed system, which would resemble a pair of eyeglasses, first detects an obstacle and then indicates its direction to the wearer through tactile stimulation to the forehead. This paper describes the preliminary testing for this device which we believe could be an effective tool in assisting the visually impaired to lead more independent lives by allowing for more freedom and safety of movement
         
        
            Keywords : 
collision avoidance; handicapped aids; air stimulation; assistive device; obstacle detection; tactile stimulation; visually impaired person; Aircraft navigation; Electronic mail; Forehead; Frequency; Legged locomotion; Safety devices; Skin; Systems engineering and theory; Testing; Vibration control; air jet; distance; tactile; the blind; the visually impaired;
         
        
        
        
            Conference_Titel : 
SICE-ICASE, 2006. International Joint Conference
         
        
            Conference_Location : 
Busan
         
        
            Print_ISBN : 
89-950038-4-7
         
        
            Electronic_ISBN : 
89-950038-5-5
         
        
        
            DOI : 
10.1109/SICE.2006.314617