Haptic technologies have enriched the ways we interact with people, computing agents and environments [1-3,6-10]. For the visually impaired community, the haptic modality has played a key role in way-finding applications [1,4-5]. Haptic smart cane is an example that has been shaping the way visually impaired people navigate on streets [1]. Similarly, haptic feedback has been explored to assist profoundly deaf people to improve situational awareness and experience a physical dimension of sounds [2,11]. A research team at UCL has been systematically investigating the impact of current available haptic technologies on the daily life of people with physical impairments. Also, the team has been identifying current practices, challenges and design guidelines by conducting a series of co-design workshops with stakeholder groups.
References
[1] Nasser, A., Keng, K. N., and Zhu, K., 2020. ThermalCane: Exploring Thermotactile Directional Cues on Cane-Grip for Non-Visual Navigation. In The 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, pp. 1-12.
[2] Shibasaki, M., Kamiyama, Y., and Minamizawa, K., 2016. Designing a haptic feedback system for hearing-impaired to experience tap dance. In Proceedings of the 29th Annual Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, pp. 97-99.
[3] Shull, P. B., and Damian, D. D., 2015. Haptic wearables as sensory replacement, sensory augmentation and trainer–a review. Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 12(1), 59.
[4] Cho, Y. and Kwon, D-S., 2012. Method of Outputting Braille Using Braille Output Actuator. KR Patent KR101181811.
[5] Cho, Y. and Kwon, D-S., 2011. System for Interacting Braille Education Using the Feel Presentation Device and The Method Therefor. KR Patent KR101087640.
[6] Cho, Y., Joung, M. and Kim, S., 2015. Device and method for generating vibrations. U.S. Patent Application 14/758,397.
[7] Cho, Y., Bianchi, A., Marquardt, N. and Bianchi-Berthouze, N., 2016. RealPen: Providing realism in handwriting tasks on touch surfaces using auditory-tactile feedback. In Proceedings of the 29th Annual Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, pp. 195-205.
[8] Cho, Y., Youn, J., Joung, M., and Kim, S., 2020. Vehicle display device and vehicle. U.S. Patent 10,534,440.
[9] Cho, Y., 2018. Sensorless Resonance Tracking of Resonant Electromagnetic Actuator through Back-EMF Estimation for Mobile Devices. arXiv preprint arXiv:1803.07065.
[10] Cho, Y., Kim, S., and Joung, M., 2020. Pointing Device and Control Methods Thereof. KR Patent KR102053194B1.
[11] Schmitz, A., Holloway, C., and Cho, Y., 2020. Hearing through Vibrations: Perception of Musical Emotions by Profoundly Deaf People. arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.13265.