Enhancing navigation and obstacle avoidance with a vibrotactile device as secondary electronic travel aid.

People with visual impairments commonly rely on the use of a white cane to navigate and avoid obstacles. Although this analog tool is highly reliable and easy to use, its drawback is the impossibility to anticipate obstacles beyond reach and routes, as well as obstacles above waist level. Electronic...

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Publicado en:Disability & Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology Vol. 20; no. 4; pp. 1140 - 1151
Autores principales: de Paz, Carlos, Huertas, Juan Antonio, Ibáñez-Gijón, Jorge, Martín-Gonzalo, Juan Andrés, Varas, Ana Belén, Travieso, David
Formato: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd May2025
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: May2025
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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        10.1080/17483107.2024.2417264
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        atl: Enhancing navigation and obstacle avoidance with a vibrotactile device as secondary electronic travel aid.
      aug:
        au:
          de Paz, Carlos
          Huertas, Juan Antonio
          Ibáñez-Gijón, Jorge
          Martín-Gonzalo, Juan Andrés
          Varas, Ana Belén
          Travieso, David
        affil: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
      sug:
        subj:
          Vision Disorders
          Electronics
          Ambulation Aids
          Canes
          Task Performance and Analysis
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Adolescence
          Adult
          Spain
          Usability Study
          Random Assignment
          Descriptive Statistics
          Funding Source
          Assistive Technology Devices
          Walking Speed
          Adolescent: 13-18 years
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: People with visual impairments commonly rely on the use of a white cane to navigate and avoid obstacles. Although this analog tool is highly reliable and easy to use, its drawback is the impossibility to anticipate obstacles beyond reach and routes, as well as obstacles above waist level. Electronic travel aids (ETAs) and sensory substitution devices (SSDs) are new technological solutions designed to enhance the tactile and/or auditory capabilities to access the information needed to overcome those drawbacks. In the present study, 25 individuals with visual impairments used the T-Sight, a vibrotactile SSD, and/or the white cane in a navigation task involving obstacle avoidance. While the performance achieved with the device, measured by the number of collisions and walking speed, did not surpass the white cane, the SSD did have a positive impact on ambulation. Participants reduced the number of white cane touches towards environmental obstacles and performed obstacle avoidance maneuvers earlier. These results demonstrate the potential of vibrotactile devices to address the limitations of the white cane. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: Assessments of secondary travel aids for people with visual impairments should include performance measures beyond speed and number of collisions. These include the number of alerts, white cane touches, and trajectory analysis. Our vibrotactile secondary ETA allows improvements in navigation and obstacle avoidance shown as a reduction in the use of the white cane and an anticipation of the avoidance maneuvers.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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