A belt bag to aid navigation for those with sight loss

Scientists from NYU Tandon School of Engineering have described technology that aids navigation for those with sight loss in JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology.

The belt bag has 10 precision vibration motors that provide haptic feedback indicating the location and proximity of obstacles. Audio beeps provided through a headset become more frequent as a user approaches an obstacle.

In order to test the technology, researchers recruited 72 volunteers without sight loss who wore virtual reality headsets that simulated a subway station environment as experienced by someone with advanced glaucoma.

The study participants attempted to navigate obstacles in their path under four different sets of conditions: with haptic feedback, with audio feedback, with both haptic and audio feedback and without any feedback.

Researchers found that haptic feedback significantly reduced collisions, while audio feedback helped participants to take a more direct route while navigating obstacles.

The study found that most participants preferred a single form of feedback – rather than haptic and audio feedback combined.

Lead author, Fabiana Sofia Ricci, a PhD candidate at NYU Tandon, highlighted that white canes only detect obstacles through contact, while guide dogs require extensive training and are costly.

“Traditional mobility aids have key limitations that we want to overcome,” she said.

The technology refines an earlier backpack-based system developed by colleagues at NYU Tandon including John-Ross Rizzo and Maurizio Porfiri.

Rizzo, an associate professor at NYU Tandon’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, explained that the goal of the technology is to have a device that people can wear with any type of clothing.

"We want to reach a point where the technology we’re building is light, largely unseen and has all the necessary performance required for efficient and safe navigation," he said.