Fw: BlindNews: Engineers develop assistive technologies for the blind

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Leon Gilbert" <BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Blind News Mailing List" <BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 5:50 PM
Subject: BlindNews: Engineers develop assistive technologies for the blind


> UCSC Currents, California
> Monday, December 13, 2004
>
> Engineers develop assistive technologies for the blind
>
> By Tim Stephens
>
> UCSC researchers are developing new assistive technologies for the blind
based on advances in computer vision that have emerged from research in
robotics. A "virtual white cane" is one of several prototype tools for the
visually impaired developed by Roberto Manduchi, an assistant professor of
computer engineering, and his students.
>
>
> The "virtual white cane" combines a laser, a camera, and a computer
processor to give a blind person feedback about features such as stairs and
curbs. Photo: R. Manduchi
>
> The traditional white cane is still the most common mobility device for
the blind. It is a simple and effective tool that enables users to extend
their sense of touch and "preview" the area ahead of them as they walk. But
the long, rigid cane is not well-suited to all situations or all users.
>
> Manduchi's high-tech alternative is a laser-based range-sensing device
about the size of a flashlight. A laser, much like the one in an ordinary
laser pointer, is combined with a digital camera and a computer processor
that analyzes and integrates spatial information as the user moves the
device back and forth over a scene. The user receives feedback about the
scene in the form of audio signals, and an additional tactile interface is
being developed for future prototypes.
>
> "In the audio signal, the pitch corresponds to distance, and there are
also special sounds to indicate features such as a curb, step, or drop-off,"
Manduchi said.
>
> Dan Yuan, a graduate student working with Manduchi on the virtual white
cane project, built the initial prototype. The UCSC researchers are
collaborating with the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, a nonprofit
research institute in San Francisco, on the virtual white cane and other
projects.
>
> "The people at Smith-Kettlewell are helping us to understand the real
needs of the blind, and they have blind engineers who test the systems we
develop," Manduchi said.
>
>
>
> Roberto Manduchi Photo: Tim Stephens
> In another project, for example, Manduchi is working with Smith-Kettlewell
scientist James Coughlan on a system that uses a compact device with a
camera to detect and gather information from small labels or tags placed in
key locations. For example, the tags might help a blind person locate a
doctor's office in a medical building. The device would only work where tags
have been placed in the environment, but the tags--small colored labels with
bar codes on them--are very inexpensive and require no maintenance.
>
> "A blind person staying at a hotel could put a sticker on their door so
they could easily find their way back to the room," Manduchi said. "Or I
could put tags here in the Engineering 2 Building to help a blind visitor
find my office."
>
> The tags could be detected by a handheld computer with a simple camera, or
even a camera phone, he said. Michi Mutsuzaki, a UCSC undergraduate working
in Manduchi's lab, used a small handheld computer with a camera to develop a
protoype device that can detect the colored targets.
>
> A third collaboration with Smith-Kettlewell is a project Manduchi refers
to as "MapQuest for the blind," in reference to the Internet map site
MapQuest.com.
>
> "The problem is how to enable a blind person to explore a map," Manduchi
said. "The current devices are braille maps, but those require a special
printer. We want to create a feedback environment to enable a blind person
to explore a map on the computer."
>
> The feedback would be provided by a "force-feedback mouse," which vibrates
to produce a variety of physical sensations the user can feel as the pointer
moves across features on a computer screen. These devices are readily
available, so the project involves creating software that will enable the
blind to use a force-feedback mouse to "feel" their way through a map.
>
> Michele Clarke, an undergraduate at St. Mary's University of Minnesota,
began working with Manduchi on this project last summer as a participant in
UCSC's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Information Technology
(SURF-IT) program, funded by the National Science Foundation. She is
continuing to work on the project at St. Mary's during the current academic
year.
>
> Before coming to UC Santa Cruz in 2001, Manduchi worked for several years
at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, applying computer vision technology to
autonomous robotic systems.
>
> "It is a natural evolution from helping a robot drive around to helping a
blind person navigate their environment," he said.
>
>
> http://currents.ucsc.edu/04-05/12-13/laser.asp
>
>
>
>
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