The visual glove

Overview & Synopsis

The generalised development of operating systems based on graphical interfaces has reduced the possibility for blind people, to access to computers. Many attempts have been done using assistive technology to overcome this problem [1,2]. One of these attempts is the possible use of sensory substitution, following work done by P. Bach y Rita [3,4]. In the sixties, P. Bach y Rita has developed a device using sensory substitution which is called the Tactile Vision Substitution System (TVSS) [5]. This TVSS uses a camera to capture an image. The video signal is then processed to activate a stimulation matrix (20x20 dots), located anywhere on the subject's skin, giving a ‘tactile image'. The TVSS has been proved to be efficient, after a training period, for the identification of objects and even of people. But its weigh and price, as well as the limited resolution due to technical problems, has prevented its wide acceptation by visually impaired people. The main idea of our team is to use a minimal haptic stimulation to represent graphic information. The resolution would be due to the scan of the image by the hand carrying the sensors, rather than by an increase in the number of sensors. This device called ‘The Visual Glove' is devoted to two main applications: helping the visually impaired people to identify graphic information on a computer screen; being used as a support for cognitive research on perception and training [6].