2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A Study of Barrier-free Communication Systems Using Virtual Reality Technology for Deaf People
| Project/Area Number |
15300189
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
INO Shuichi The University of Tokyo, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, Associate Professor, 先端科学技術研究センター, 助教授 (70250511)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
IFUKUBE Tohru The University of Tokyo, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, Professor, 先端科学技術研究センター, 教授 (70002102)
SUZUKI Yasuo Sapporo Medical University, School of medicine, Associate Professor, 医学部, 助教授 (40221329)
KUROKI Hayato The University of Tokyo, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, Specially Appointed Research Associate, 先端科学技術研究センター, 科学技術振興特任教員(特任助手) (00345159)
FUKUSHIMA Satoshi The University of Tokyo, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, Associate Professor, 先端科学技術研究センター, 助教授 (50285079)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Keywords | Hearing Disability / Barrier-Free Information / Virtual Reality / Sensory Substitute / Caption / Head-Mounted Display / human Influence / Tactile Display |
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| Research Abstract |
In this research project, we developed three types of barrier-free communication system for people with hearing disability. These systems employ the recent technology such as a sensory display in virtual reality and a wearable PC in human interface technology. Specifically the results of this project are described in the following paragraphs.
1.A portable automatic note-taking system has been designed to allow face-to-face communication between deaf and hearing people. This system is mainly composed of a lightweight optical see-through HMD, a wearable PC and speech recognition software. To confirm a margin of safety of the VR display system, human influences were examined neuro-ophthalmologically. It was found that visual load by the VR display for a long time affected ocular accommodation and pupillary movement in healthy subjects.
2.Our compact tactile aid utilizes a multi-channel vibrotactile display. To assist deaf people at speech reading, this tactile communication device converts
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voice information into vibrotactile stimulation on a fingertip. We investigate here biomechanical characteristics of fingerpad skin to generate adequate tactile stimulus for voice communication and design a broadband vibrotactile display composed of small piezoelectric bimorph actuators. From the results of psychophysical experiments, it was suggested that our tactile aid should allow to present voice quality of a speaker on the fingertip.
3.A real-time captioning system was developed for public communication at a meeting or the lectures of a school. This system consists of a LCD projector instead of the MHD of the above note-taking system, a simultaneous respeaking operator to respond more flexibly to various speakers, and a device for superimposing the images of a speaker and a caption on a large screen. Furthermore we examined the optimal spatiotemporal parameters of superimposing the images of a speaker and a caption to improve communication accuracy for deaf users. This system is now available at an international meeting and the lectures of some universities in Japan. Less
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