[Fopbc] Fwd: BlindAid: Virtual Maps for the Blind

[FOPBC at aol.com]

Good Morning All -
 
I have not been able to find information on when this will be available to  
us. I will keep you posted as soon as I receive new info.
 
Have a great Monday!
 
Lenora J. Marten, President
FOPBC NFBF-Parents Division
Jacksonville  Chapter Secretary
_fopbc at aol.com_ (mailto:fopbc at aol.com)  
904-777-5976 /  904-229-9554
_www.nfbflorida.org/parents_ (http://www.nfbflorida.org/parents) 
 
 
 
  
____________________________________
 

BlindAid: Virtual Maps For The Blind

BlindAid: Virtual Maps For The Blind
Article Date: 11 Sep  2009 - 5:00 PDT
The blind and visually impaired often rely on others to  provide cues and 
information on navigating through their environments. The  problem with this 
method is that it doesn't give them the tools to venture out  on their own, 
says Dr. Orly Lahav of Tel Aviv University's School of Education  and Porter 
School for Environmental Studies. 
To give navigational "sight" to the blind, Dr. Lahav has  invented a new 
software tool to help the blind navigate through unfamiliar  places. It is 
connected to an existing joystick, a 3-D haptic device, that  interfaces with 
the user through the sense of touch. People can feel tension  beneath their 
fingertips as a physical sensation through the joystick as they  navigate 
around a virtual environment which they cannot see, only feel: the  joystick 
stiffens when the user meets a virtual wall or barrier. 
The software can also be programmed to emit sounds - a  cappuccino machine 
firing up in a virtual café, or phones ringing when the  explorer walks by a 
reception desk. 
Exploring 3D virtual worlds based on maps of real-world  environments, the 
blind are able to "feel out" streets, sidewalks and hallways  with the 
joystick as they move the cursor like a white cane on the computer  screen that 
they will never see. Before going out alone, the new solution  gives them the 
control, confidence and ability to explore new streets making  unknown 
spaces familiar. It allows people who can't see to make mental maps in  their 
mind. 
Dr. Lahav's software takes physical information from our world  and 
digitizes it for transfer to a computer, with which the user interacts  using a 
mechanical device. Her hope is that the blind will be able to explore  the 
virtual environment of a new neighborhood in the comfort of their homes  before 
venturing out into the real world. 
A touchy-feely virtual white stick

"This tool lets the blind 'touch' and 'hear' virtual objects and  deepens 
their sense of space, distance and perspective," says Dr. Lahav. "They  can 
'feel' intersections, buildings, paths, and obstacles with the joystick,  and 
even navigate inside a shopping mall or a museum like the Louvre in a  
virtual environment before they go out to explore on their own." 
The tool transmits textures to the fingers and can distinguish  among 
surfaces like tiled floors, asphalt, sidewalks and grass. In theory, any  unknown 
space, indoors or out, can be virtually pre-explored, says Dr. Lahav.  The 
territory just needs to be mapped first - and with existing applications  
like GIS (geography information system), the information is already there. 
A new road to independence

The tool, called the BlindAid, was recently unveiled at the  "Virtual 
Rehabilitation 2009 International Conference," where Dr. Lahav  demonstrated case 
studies of people using the tool at the Carroll Center for  the Blind, a 
rehabilitation center in Newton, Massachusetts. There, a  partially blind 
woman first explored the virtual environment of the center -  as well as the 
campus and 10 other sites, including a four-story building.  After just three 
or four sessions, the woman was able to effectively navigate  and explore 
real-world target sites wearing a blindfold. 
The virtual system becomes a computerized "white cane" for the  blind, says 
Dr. Lahav. "They get feedback from the device that lets them build  a 
cognitive map, which they later apply in the real world. It's like a  high-tech 
walking cane," she says. "Our tool lets people 'see' their  environment in 
advance so they can walk in it for real at a later time." 
Today the blind and visually impaired are very limited in their  movements, 
which necessarily influences their quality of life. This solution  could 
help them find new options, like closer routes from train or bus  stations to 
the safety of home. "Ultimately, it helps the blind determine  their own 
paths and gives them the ability to take control of their lives,"  says Dr. 
Lahav, who first began this research at Tel Aviv University, under  Prof. David 
Mioduser, where she now works. She then further developed it with  her MIT 
colleagues Dr. Mandayam Srinivasan and Dr. David W. Schloerb. 
American Friends of Tel Aviv University supports Israel's  leading and most 
comprehensive center of higher learning. In independent  rankings, TAU's 
innovations and discoveries are cited more often by the global  scientific 
community than all but 20 other universities worldwide.  Internationally 
recognized for the scope and groundbreaking nature of its  research programs, Tel 
Aviv University consistently produces work with  profound implications for 
the future. 
Source:
George Hunka
American Friends of Tel Aviv University
 
 








-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/fopbc_nfbnet.org/attachments/20090914/0e0de959/attachment.html>