| Sumario: | Purpose: People with blindness and low vision (pBLV) face challenges in navigating. Mobility aids are crucial for enhancing independence and safety. This paper presents an electronic travel aid that leverages a haptic-based, higher-order sensory substitution approach called Virtual Whiskers, designed to help pBLV navigate obstacles effectively, efficiently, and safely. Materials and Methods: Virtual Whiskers is equipped with a plurality of modular vibration units that operate independently to deliver haptic feedback to users. Virtual Whiskers features two navigation modes: open path mode and depth mode, each addressing obstacle negotiation from different perspectives. The open path mode detects and delineates a traversable area within an analyzed field of view and then guides the user in the most traversable direction with adaptive vibratory feedback. Depth mode assists users in negotiating obstacles by highlighting spatial areas with prominent obstacles; haptic feedback is generated by re-mapping proximity to vibration intensity. We recruited 10 participants with blindness or low vision for user testing of Virtual Whiskers. Results: Both approaches reduce hesitation time (idle periods) and decrease the number of cane contacts with objects and walls. Conclusions: Virtual Whiskers is a promising obstacle negotiation strategy that demonstrates great potential to assist with pBLV navigation. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: Enhanced Mobility and Independence: Virtual Whiskers significantly improves navigational aids for people with blindness and low vision (pBLV) by offering realtime, intuitive haptic feedback. This enhances users' ability to navigate complex environments safely, reducing reliance on traditional mobility aids like the white cane. Customizable Rehabilitation Approaches: The dual-mode functionality of Virtual Whiskers allows for tailored rehabilitation strategies, adapting to diverse environmental challenges and individual preferences. This flexibility facilitates a more personalized and effective rehabilitation process. Advanced Obstacle Detection: Virtual Whiskers leverages generalized obstacle detection, enabling it to identify any hazardous obstacles for pBLV users, regardless of whether these obstacles have been previously included in the training dataset for the computer vision model. This capability enhances safety and accessibility, making it possible for users to navigate diverse environments with confidence.
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