TactiFold: Electrotactile Aids for Visually Impaired Individuals in Origami

Origami offers creative and therapeutic benefits, but adapting it for visually impaired people is challenging due to its reliance on visual instructions and intricate details. Traditional aids like braille instructions and tactile diagrams are helpful but costly and limited in adaptability. In response, we developed TactiFold, an innovative wearable device using electrotactile technology to provide dynamic tactile feedback for origami folding. TactiFold features a high-density electrode array that renders fine-grained tactile textures on users' fingertips, guiding them through different folding steps. Five electrotactile symbols were designed and implemented, taking account of the simplicity and clarity of electrotactile aids, to represent key folding operations types and the corresponding positions. Two empirical studies with 14 visually impaired participants confirmed that TactiFold reliably rendered the tactile sensations that were well perceived, and by providing clear, guided feedback, TactiFold accompanied with necessary audio instructions enabled visually impaired people to get started with origami at high precision. This work demonstrates the flexibility and viability of electrotactile rendering in adaptations for accessibility.