Citation

Buchs G, Simon N, Maidenbaum S, Amedi A. Restor. Neurol. Neurosci. 2017; 35(2): 225-235.

Affiliation

Sorbonne Universités UPMC Univ Paris 06, Institut de la Vision Paris, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, IOS Press)

DOI

10.3233/RNN-160686

PMID

28157111

Abstract

BACKGROUND: One of the most stirring statistics in relation to the mobility of blind individuals is the high rate of upper body injuries, even when using the white-cane.

OBJECTIVE: We here addressed a rehabilitation- oriented challenge of providing a reliable tool for blind people to avoid waist-up obstacles, namely one of the impediments to their successful mobility using currently available methods (e.g., white-cane).

METHODS: We used the EyeCane, a device we developed which translates distances from several angles to haptic and auditory cues in an intuitive and unobtrusive manner, serving both as a primary and secondary mobility aid. We investigated the rehabilitation potential of such a device in facilitating visionless waist-up body protection.

RESULTS: After ∼5 minutes of training with the EyeCane blind participants were able to successfully detect and avoid obstacles waist-high and up. This was significantly higher than their success when using the white-cane alone. As avoidance of obstacles required participants to perform additional cognitive process after their detection, the avoidance rate was significantly lower than the detection rate.

CONCLUSION: Our work has demonstrated that the EyeCane has the potential to extend the sensory world of blind individuals by expanding their currently accessible inputs, and has offered them a new practical rehabilitation tool.

Language: en

Keywords

Blind; active sensing; assistive technology; mobility; mobility aid; multisensory