Virtual environment navigation with look-around mode to explore new real spaces by people who are blind

Lahav, Orly; Gedalevitz, Hadas; Battersby, Steven; Brown, David J.; Evett, L; Merritt, Patrick

doi:10.1080/09638288.2017.1286391

Cited by 26 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…In this regard, several projects utilized previously modelled data of the environment, thus allowing isolation of the design and optimization of the human-machine interface from the data acquisition system. For example, some projects offer virtual-reality platforms which allow users to explore scenery prior to travelling, by means of an avatar controlled by the user and a virtualized sensory substitution device [22,23].…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

VES: A Mixed-Reality System to Assist Multisensory Spatial Perception and Cognition for Blind and Visually Impaired People

Real

Araújo

2020

Applied Sciences

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In this paper, the Virtually Enhanced Senses (VES) System is described. It is an ARCore-based, mixed-reality system meant to assist blind and visually impaired people’s navigation. VES operates in indoor and outdoor environments without any previous in-situ installation. It provides users with specific, runtime-configurable stimuli according to their pose, i.e., position and orientation, and the information of the environment recorded in a virtual replica. It implements three output data modalities: Wall-tracking assistance, acoustic compass, and a novel sensory substitution algorithm, Geometry-based Virtual Acoustic Space (GbVAS). The multimodal output of this algorithm takes advantage of natural human perception encoding of spatial data. Preliminary experiments of GbVAS have been conducted with sixteen subjects in three different scenarios, demonstrating basic orientation and mobility skills after six minutes training.

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Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

VES: A Mixed-Reality System to Assist Multisensory Spatial Perception and Cognition for Blind and Visually Impaired People

Real

Araújo

2020

Applied Sciences

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“…Both convey to the user abilities and activities that operate only in these VR systems and are not available in RS. The two VR systems, the BlindAid system [ 9 , 28 ] and the Virtual Cane (Wiimote) [ 29 ], have been previously studied. In this research, we examine and compare the spatial behavior of participants who are blind exploring two multisensorial VR systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Reality Systems as an Orientation Aid for People Who Are Blind to Acquire New Spatial Information

Lahav

2022

Sensors

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This research aims to examine the impact of virtual environments interface on the exploration process, construction of cognitive maps, and performance of orientation tasks in real spaces by users who are blind. The study compared interaction with identical spaces using different systems: BlindAid, Virtual Cane, and real space. These two virtual systems include user-interface action commands that convey unique abilities and activities to users who are blind and that operate only in these VR systems and not in real space (e.g., teleporting the user’s avatar or pointing at a virtual object to receive information). This research included 15 participants who are blind, divided into three groups: a control group and two experimental groups. Varied tasks (exploration and orientation) were used in two virtual environments and in real spaces, with both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The results show that the participants were able to explore, construct a cognitive map, and perform orientation tasks. Participants in both virtual systems used these action commands during their exploration process: all participants used the teleport action command to move their avatar to the starting point and all Virtual Cane participants explored the environment mainly by using the look-around mode, which enabled them to collect spatial information in a way that influenced their ability to construct a cognitive map based on a map model.

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“…Researchers have highlighted the importance of these sub-forms of spatial representations, i.e., linguistic, graphic, and model, during early childhood development ( Pang et al, 2008 ). For this study, we briefly propose the executive definitions of these sub-forms according to the previous literature (e.g., Blaut and Stea, 1971 ; Bluestein and Acredolo, 1979 ; Landau, 1986 ; DeLoache, 1989 , 2000 ; Landau and Jackendoff, 1993 ; Netelenbos and Savelsbergh, 2003 ; Szechter and Liben, 2004 ; Pang et al, 2008 ; Lahav et al, 2018 ). First, linguistic representation is the ability to express spatial experience and relations through language.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Development of Spatial Representation Through Teaching Block-Building in Kindergartners

et al. 2020

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This study investigated the effects of the teaching block-building intervention on overall spatial representation and its three sub-forms, namely linguistic, graphic and model representations, in kindergartners. Eighty-four children (39 girls and 45 boys), aged 5–6 years old, were randomly selected and equally divided into two groups, i.e., experimental group and control group. The experimental group received the intervention of teaching block-building for 14 weeks (45 min each time, once a week), while children in the control group freely played with blocks for the equivalent time. Children’s spatial representation performances were measured in both pre- and post-tests by the Experimental Tasks of Spatial Representation for Children . The results showed that: (1) teaching block-building could promote not only the overall spatial representation but also all three sub-forms of spatial representations; (2) there was no gender differences regarding the effect of teaching block-building on neither the overall nor three sub-forms of spatial representations; (3) after the intervention, the diversity of children’s choices regarding the use of sub-forms spatial representations was also promoted in the experimental group. In summary, these results contributed to a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the effects of teaching block-building on spatial representation among children in kindergartens.

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Virtual environment navigation with look-around mode to explore new real spaces by people who are blind

Abstract: Background. This paper examines the ability of people who are blind to construct a mental

Cited by 26 publications

References 27 publications

VES: A Mixed-Reality System to Assist Multisensory Spatial Perception and Cognition for Blind and Visually Impaired People

VES: A Mixed-Reality System to Assist Multisensory Spatial Perception and Cognition for Blind and Visually Impaired People

Virtual Reality Systems as an Orientation Aid for People Who Are Blind to Acquire New Spatial Information

The Development of Spatial Representation Through Teaching Block-Building in Kindergartners

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