GPS & Haptic Systems

The wave of the future for adults who are blind and

visually impaired

Robin Illers, MEd, CVRT

Hunter College, October 2008

Basic InformationThese devices are intended to augmentother travel aids, such as canes and guide dogs.

GPS systems have difficulty receivingsignals when blocked by tall buildings or objects.

They are accurate to within 30 feet of the target location.

BrailleNote GPS• Braille or auditory output• Includes BrailleNote

features• Cell phone size GPS• BrailleNote can be worn

on a neck strap

Proximity search in virtual mode allows effective trip planning including points of interest (POIs.)

Sendero, Humanware

Finding Point of Interest (POI) without echolocation using BrailleNote GPS (BGPS)

Participants: 19 individuals who had received long cane training, all occluded for research

Ability to locate POI in circle Success rate: 12% non BGPS, 93% BGPS

Participant: One experienced BGPS user who was blindAbility to locate POI in circle125 ft error non BGPS, 1 ft error with BGPS

BGPS improves POI finding ability in all cases

Ponchilla, MacKenzie, Long, Denton-Smith, Hicks & Miley (2007)

Reorienting Using BGPS

Participants: Three individuals with varying degrees of blindnessReorient in neighborhood with or without BGPS, without POITook less time for all participants to reorient using BGPS

Participant: One experienced BGPS user who was blindEase of finding house without BGPS, with BGPS, with BGPS and

waypoints (POI)Maximum efficiency with BGPS and POI, minimal no BGPS

BGPS improves efficiency in reorientation tasks.

Ponchilla, Rak, Freeland & LaGrow (2007)

Trekker• Fits in palm of hand• Cell phone size GPS• Upgradeable• Maestro option for

increased functionality

• 39 buttons

The following modes are available: Pedestrian (assigned streets), Free (parks and campuses), and Motorized (vehicular travel.)

Humanware

Trekker BreezeAnticipated release

Nov. 2008

• Self contained• Cell phone size• 9 button keyboard

Trekker BreezeTrekker Breeze

Leaves breadcrumbs along route; backtracks if person becomes disoriented.

Humanware

Need for research

Research needs to be done on Trekker products, though many of the principles apply to all GPS systems and should be transferable.

Zelek, J.S. Wearable Sensory Substitution Devices

Haptic Glove

• Haptic glove with small vibrotactile motors.

• The mapping of motors on left hand glove to the three directions (1) left, (2) in front of, (3) right as well as other motor placements.

Haptic Devices

• Some access information through a camera system.

• Some use a head mounted compass to determine directionality of traveler.

• Allow deaf-blind travelers, who don’t know Braille to access GPS Systems.

Haptic Glove Used for Wayfinding

Participants: Nine who used long cane or guide dog

Use haptic glove along with mobility device for wayfinding

No conclusive dataPositive feedbackFuture developments recommendedNot currently commercially available

Zelek, Bromley, Asmar & Thompson (2003)

References

Ponchillia, P. E., MacKenzie, N., Long, R. G., Denton-Smith, P., Hicks, T. L. & Miley, P. (2007) Finding a target with accessible global positioning system. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness (JVIB), 101(8)

Ponchillia, P. E., Rak, E. C., Freeland, A. L., & LaGrow, S. J. (2007) Accessible GPS: Reorientation and target location among users with visual impairments. JVBI, 101(7)

Zelek, J. S., Bromley, S., Asmar, D. & Thompson, D. (2003) A haptic glove as a tactile-vision sensory substitution for wayfinding. JVBI, 97(10)

Contact Information

• Humanware – Trekker and Trekker Breeze GPS– www.Humanware.com 1-800-722-3393– Us.info@humanware.com

• Sendero – BrailleNote and VoiceNote GPS– www.senderogroup.com 1-530-757-6800

• Haptic Glove system is not commercially available

Type to talk to me.

I would appreciate hearing from you.