Haptic and auditory cues: a study on independent navigation for visually impaired individuals

The research study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a personal device designed to assist blind users in navigating their environment. The wearable device consists of a stereo vision camera with structure illumination, a central control unit, a haptic belt, speakers, and a custom-made keyboard. The device uses haptic stimuli and auditory cues to provide environmental information and facilitate navigation. An important feature of the system is that the user can select operating modes and their settings while navigating. The procedures for processing the depth map, its segmentation and a mapping scheme for converting the segmented image into a matrix of haptic actuators are explained. The usability of the system was verified in static and mobility trials with 10 blind people. A post-trial survey provides valuable feedback from users, highlighting strengths of the system, such as its functionality and safety features, as well as areas for improvement, such as the intuitiveness of the user interface. The results of the study show that the combination of haptic and auditory modalities to present the environment can be an effective approach to building usable navigation aids for the visually impaired.