Optical-to-Tactile Image Conversion for the Blind

Bliss, James C.; Katcher, Michael H.; Rogers, Charles H.; Shepard, Raymond P.

doi:10.1109/tmms.1970.299963

Cited by 266 publications

(124 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Craig (1978Craig ( , 1980Craig ( , 1982Craig ( , 1985 has investigated vibrotactile masking with letter and letter-like stimuli presented to the fingerpad using the Optacon display. The Optacon is a commercially available sensory aid for the blind that consists of a 6 column x 24 row array of stimulators (Bliss, Katcher, Rogers, & Shepard, 1970). Craig has investigated backward and forward masking, masking with patterns presented to the same site and to different sites, the effect of varying the temporal separation between the onsets of a target and masker (stimulus onset asynchrony, or SOA), and the relationship between the magnitude of the masking effect and the form of the masking stimulus.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vibrotactile masking: Temporal integration, persistence, and strengths of representations

Evans

1987

Perception & Psychophysics

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vibrotactile masking: Temporal integration, persistence, and strengths of representations

Evans

1987

Perception & Psychophysics

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“…Systems that substitute tactile stimuli for visual information generally translate images from a camera into electrical or vibrotactile stimuli, which can then be applied to various parts of the body (including the fingers, the palm, the back or the tongue of the user). Experiments have confirmed the viability of this approach in supporting the recognition of basic shapes [15,16], as well as reading [17,18] and localization tasks [19].…”

Section: Systems In Assistive Engineering Based On Tactile Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…An early example of a device that supports reading is the Optacon device, which operates by transcoding printed letters onto an array of vibrotactile actuators in a 24 × 6 arrangement [17,20,21]. While the Optacon was relatively expensive at a price of about 1500 GBP in the 1970s, it allowed for reading speeds of 15-40 words per minute [22] (others have reported an average of about 28 wpm [23], while the variability of user success is illustrated by the fact that one of the authors of the current paper knew and observed at least two users with optacon reading speeds of over 80 wpm).…”

Section: Systems In Assistive Engineering Based On Tactile Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A survey of assistive technologies and applications for blind users on mobile platforms: a review and foundation for research

Csapó

Wersényi

Nagy

et al. 2015

J Multimodal User Interfaces

136

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This paper summarizes recent developments in audio and tactile feedback based assistive technologies targeting the blind community. Current technology allows applications to be efficiently distributed and run on mobile and handheld devices, even in cases where computational requirements are significant. As a result, electronic travel aids, navigational assistance modules, text-to-speech applications, as well as virtual audio displays which combine audio with haptic channels are becoming integrated into standard mobile devices. This trend, combined with the appearance of increasingly user-friendly interfaces and modes of interaction has opened a variety of new perspectives for the rehabilitation and training of users with visual impairments. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of these developments based on recent advances in basic research and application development. Using this overview as a foundation, an agenda is outlined for future research in mobile interaction design with respect to users with special needs, as well as ultimately in relation to sensor-bridging applications in general.

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“…The patterns were generated on the tactile array of the Optaeon, a reading aid for the blind (Bliss, Katcher, Rogers, & Shepard, 1970;Craig, 1980). Several different tasks involving letter recognition were used in the study.…”

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confidence: 99%

Vibratory temporal integration as a function of pattern discriminability

Craig

1984

Perception & Psychophysics

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In a recent study, we measured temporal integration for vibrotactile spatial patterns presented to the fingertips. The patterns were generated on the tactile array of the Optaeon, a reading aid for the blind (Bliss, Katcher, Rogers, & Shepard, 1970;Craig, 1980). Several different tasks involving letter recognition were used in the study. In one task, letters were divided in half and the time between the presentation of the first and second half was varied, with the result that recognition performance declined as the time between the onset of letter halves increased. In a second task, the time between the onset of a letter and the onset of its complement, that portion of the tactile array not occupied by the letter, was varied. Letter recognition improved as the letter emerged from its complement (Craig, 1982). The results were similar to previous measures involving detection of vibratory stimuli in that the major portion of the integration took place within 50 to 100 msec of the onset of the first pattern (Gescheider, 1976;Green, 1976;Verrillo, 1965).The measurements with patterned stimuli and the temporal integration functions thus generated were similar to one another in that the skin showed complete temporal integration only over time periods of 10 msec and performance reached asymptotic levels as the time between stimuli approached 100 msec. There were, however, some differences in the functions produced by the several tasks, and it is the differences between functions that are the focus of this note.The task involving a letter and its complement produced sharper temporal integration functions, that is, performance reached asymptotic levels at briefer temporal separations than in the task in which letters were divided in half. The letter-complement task also turned out to be an easier task, in that levels of performance were higher than in the divided-letter task. The results suggested either that differences in the nature of the two tasks (such as ceiling effects) may have resulted in differences in the temporal integration functions or that the ease of discriminability of spatial patterns might produce differences in the functions, that is, patterns that

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Optical-to-Tactile Image Conversion for the Blind

Cited by 266 publications

References 7 publications

Vibrotactile masking: Temporal integration, persistence, and strengths of representations

Vibrotactile masking: Temporal integration, persistence, and strengths of representations

A survey of assistive technologies and applications for blind users on mobile platforms: a review and foundation for research

Vibratory temporal integration as a function of pattern discriminability

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