| Project/Area Number |
16300192
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Section | 一般 |
|---|
| Research Field |
Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Institute of Systems & Information Technologies/KYUSHU |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
MATSUMOTO Michito Institute of Systems & Information Technologies/KYUSHU, Research Director, 第三研究室, 研究室長 (90373539)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KIMURO Yoshihiko Institute of Systems & Information Technologies/KYUSHU, Researcher, 第三研究室, 研究員 (30205009)
IENAGA Takafumi Institute of Systems & Information Technologies/KYUSHU, Researcher, 第三研究室, 研究員 (00393439)
MATSUNAGA Katsuya Kyushu Sangyo University, Faculty of Information Science, Professor (10036999)
WADA Chikamune Kyushu Institute of Technology, Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering, Associate Professor (50281837)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2005
|
| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2005)
|
| Budget Amount *help |
¥8,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥8,500,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥3,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,800,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥4,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,700,000)
|
|---|
| Keywords | Visually Impaired / Travel Aid Navigation / Tele-support / Auditory Map / Information presentation / Air Stimulation / Image Information / Obstacle / 情報呈示 / 障害物 |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this research are developing the travel aid system to support the visually impaired by utilizing a high-speed network and an image transmission relation technologies, and verifying the effectiveness experimentally.
1.Experiment of the travel aid system for visually impaired with auditory map and a tele-support system
In the experiment, the subjects carried two devices. One was an IC recorder to listen to the recorded instruction in the auditory map and another was a video cellular phone to be navigated by a remote supporter. Twelve subjects participated in the experiment. The subjects supposed to use the navigation service provided by a remote supporter when they lose their ways or direction and recognized that they were not able to continue to travel with only the auditory map. As the result of the experiment, one of the twelve subjects reached the destination with only the auditory map, and eight did by using the both of the auditory map and the navigation service, while
… More
three were not able to get to the destination within the given time. In this experiment, we designed the complicated route with many narrow paths where it was hard to find intersections.
In this study, we verified that our travel aid system was effective to assist the visually impaired to walk by themselves.
2.Study on the use of Air Stimulation as the Indicator in an Obstacle Avoidance System for the Visually Impaired
In this study, we propose a device that indicates the direction of an obstacle that is encroaching into the path of a visually impaired person who is walking. Our proposed system which would resemble a pair of eyeglasses, first detects an obstacle and then indicates its direction to the wearer through tactile stimulation to the forehead.
In the experiment, we found that obstacle direction was perceived through forehead air stimulation and that obstacle avoidance could be successfully carried out in a practical setting with the assistance of our methods.
We believe that this research completes a successful stage towards the development of a practical obstacle avoidance device that uses air stimulation to indicate hazards and improve the everyday lives of the visually impaired. Less
|
