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<DIV>Good Morning All -</DIV>
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<DIV>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.</DIV>
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<DIV>Have a great Monday!</DIV>
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<DIV>Lenora J. Marten, President<BR>FOPBC NFBF-Parents Division<BR>Jacksonville
Chapter Secretary</DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:fopbc@aol.com">fopbc@aol.com</A> <BR>904-777-5976 /
904-229-9554<BR><A title=http://www.nfbflorida.org/parents
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<H1 align=center>BlindAid: Virtual Maps For The Blind</H1>
<P align=left>BlindAid: Virtual Maps For The Blind<BR>Article Date: 11 Sep
2009 - 5:00 PDT<BR>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.</P>
<P align=left>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.</P>
<P align=left>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.</P>
<P align=left>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.</P>
<P align=left>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.</P>
<H4 align=center>A touchy-feely virtual white stick</H4>
<P align=left>"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."</P>
<P align=left>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.</P>
<H4 align=center>A new road to independence</H4>
<P align=left>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.</P>
<P align=left>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."</P>
<P align=left>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.</P>
<P align=left>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.</P>
<DIV>Source:<BR>George Hunka<BR>American Friends of Tel Aviv University</DIV>
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