Haptics Generation for Virtual Cane Grasping --- Visually Impaired Walking Aid ---

Abstract

Visually impaired individual, when he walks on a pathway alone, recognizes path conditions through using a white cane. The purpose of our study here is to reproduce haptic sensing of his hand during the investigation in which white cane is grasped. First about our virtual reality (VR) system for this purpose. In our VR system we prepare "studded paving blocks to aid the visually impaired" as pavement, a "white cane" and a "hand" to grasp and manipulate the cane on the block. An actual hand worn a data glove on it is superposed on the virtual hand by the system. Thus the touch and investigation on the paving blocks by the white cane in the VR space is conveyed to the actual hand via data glove. We also show some experimental vibration value and haptic value data and some skin surface voltage of EMG (electromyogram) data.