Improving Accessibility for Blind Students in E-learning Environments - Literature review Example

Assistive Technologies to Support Independent Mobility of Visually Impaired and Blind People Visually impaired or blind people are often dependant on the others to make a journey from one place to the other. Due to the advent of assistive technology, many tools and devices have been developed to help the blind people make displacement safely and independently. Devices are categorized as the following; electronic travels aids, electronic orientation aids, navigational systems etc. Keywords: Visually impaired, assistive technology, electronic travels aids, electronic orientation aids, navigational systems 2. Introduction The term ‘assistive technology’ 1 is commonly used to indicate technology that is designed for people with some kind of disability [2]. Over the years, it has been researched and concluded that the best quality about an assistive technology is that it performs the task without the person having to think about the technology itself [1]. For such a large group of people, necessary solutions should be provided to make them independent in terms of their mobility and work [3]. People who have severe visual impairments face many hurdles in accomplishing independent mobility which would be safe and reliable for them [4], [9]. There are several good assistive technological equipments and solutions available but some have serious drawbacks [5], [8]. These assistive technological solutions have their own advantages and limitations [40]. It has been reported that assistive technologies are highly used by blind users however some researchers have also discussed the abandonment of such devices by the users after sometime [11], [12], [43]. 1 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=/iel5/4149990/4126184/04150317.pdf 3. Historical Overview Visually impaired and blind people tend to face problem while travelling alone since they do not have a visual perception and orientation of their environment. Firstly, they face problems in acquiring information for planning their journey. After they have overcome this and have initial basic information, they face difficulties in keeping track of their planned journey and judging if they are going off-track [13], [14], [42]. Electronic travel aids 1 (ETAs) are most important for blind and visually impaired so that they do not have to depend on any other individual for their displacement [3]. Some of the ETAs that have been proposed over the years are Mowat sensor [15], Teletact and VigitTack [16]; these are used for assistance to avoid obstacles. Robotic development has also taken place in this field and many tools and inventions have been witnessed. In 2004, Iwatsuka [17] invented the robotic dog; they claimed it to be a smart vision based walker which was equipped with the speech recognition mechanism. Cameras were placed at human height to facilitate the experience of a normal sighted person. Another solution that has been devised over time is the use of smart electronic canes. Canes are used by around 4 million people in US as they provide the basic biomechanical required support for being mobile [18]. Canes cannot be termed as most efficient when obstacles are involved such as stairs, and surfaces with probable friction etc [19]. For such scenarios; active guidance is required to train the potential cane users [8]. Many systems have been developed to provide information to the blind that would be useful for a comprehensive mapping of the space around them and thus generation of navigational paths [20]; some systems proposed in the past are Kaspa [21], activated audio 1 www.noogenesis.com/ETA.html beacon by using cell phones technology [22]. Other Solutions by using Technological Assistance The technologies that have been developed for the blind to provide them assistance in being mobile can be discussed in different categories; traditional low-tech aids, ETAs [28], EOAs 1, assistance for navigation purposes and assistance for (specifically) mobility. One research paper has been chosen for each category that reflects a clear understanding of the subject. 5.1 Traditional Low-Tech Aids The paper chosen for this category is [6]. The most common aid of the past has been the traditional white cane which is lightweight, inexpensive and easy to carry. Guide dogs were also used for such purposes. However the usage of the white cane requires some degree and guidance to avoid any falling [27], [38]. 5.2 Electronic Travel Aids Medium Tech (ETA) Technological Canes: One of the papers chosen for this research is [26]; to explain the technology about intelligent canes is about “Robotic Cane”. This paper gives a comprehensive explanation regarding the working and design of their robot. There has been a lot of development in the robotics field [24], [39]. Blind people usually use a white cane or a guide dog (which is a trained dog to navigate the way for the blind) [25]. The advantages of the traditional cane and the guide dog have been observed and have proposed an interactive robotic cane [26]. They named the robotic cane “RoJi” ; it is powered with two motors so that it can guide the person with sufficient power. 1 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org Fig.1: Robotic Cane [26] There is an ultrasonic sensor driven at RC motor; mounted above the wheels. It scans the space in front of it to detect any obstacles or hazards. It scans the area ahead at an angle of (+-) 900 . Another example of Electronic cane is Smart Cane [29]; just like the robotic cane, it is also powered with wheels and sensors for obstacle detection. Another paper chosen for ETA is the Intelligent Glasses [30] which is a new sensory substitution to a sequential time-consuming environmental scan by electronic canes. It proposes a vision similar to a 3D world on a tactile display 1 [30]. Fig.2: IG system and an example of its image-to-tactile rendering [30] 1 https://oa.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/45134/premapsa.pdf?sequence=1 5.3 Electronic Orientation Aids A system has been proposed in the chosen paper [32] for orientation aid to the blind users; it is the electron neural vision system (ENVS). This paper has been chosen because it supports a portable system to give outdoor navigation incorporates by GPS. One of the main features of this innovative system is to enable the user to avoid obstacles and provide navigation in outdoors [41]. It consists of a headset with two stereo cameras, digital compass and a computer with GPS capabilities. A depth map is created by the cameras, the portable computer is used to convert the information of the depth map and obstacles. This is sent to the electronic glove TENS in the form Fig.3: ENVS with its components [32] of electrical pulses that cause sensations in the finger. “The amount of stimulation is directly proportional to the distance of the objects in the direction pointed by each finger.” [32]. 5.4 Assistance for Navigation A paper has been chosen for navigation system proposed in [34], [37] - Tylfos; it is based on two modules- Reader and Navigator. This paper has been chosen because Tylfos proposes a unique technique of obstacle detection; it is done in x, y coordinates. The main aim of this system is to integrate different navigation technologies like wireless handheld computer, GPS sensors and text-to speech devices so that the user is given correct navigational instructions. The output of the directions is given a tactile display. The role of the Navigator in this system is to capture environmental data from all the sensors and deliver this information to the user in the most appropriate manner. 5.5 Assistance for Mobility Another system is chosen from the paper [32]; it has different systems described in the paper. One of the systems in it is CyARM; they claim that the main feature of this system is to provide aid in guiding orientation and mobility. It uses the ultrasonic sensors to detect the hurdles that might be present in a way. Along with the obstacles, it measures the distance between the object and the user. This feature will help him during his mobility as he will get the exact distance between the present objects. The information is delivered to the user via the tension of a wire that is attached to him for example with his belt. High tension in the wire will indicate that he is close to an object; so close that he might be able to touch if hand is extended. Low tension in the wire will indicate longer distance [36]. 4. Evaluation of Solutions Wayfinding 1 can be defined as a technique adapted by blind people as they move from one place to the other without being dependant on anyone [7]. It involves two categories; orientation and mobility. Orientation is the capability of a person to be able to judge where they currently are and to judge one’s position in the environment. Mobility involves the ability of an individual to travel safely while detecting hurdles and obstacles [7]. Navigation involves the synchronized combination of both sensory and cognitive skills [10], [20]. Spatial Perception involves the ability of the person to determine the horizontal and vertical directions in a specific space; where distracting patterns may also be present [23]. 1 www.eurohaptics.vision.ee.ethz.ch/2003/65.pdf The authors of paper [6] states that canes help in immediate and surface located obstacles. However they do not address the fact that low-tech canes do not give information about the distance that the objects might be at or at what height. Another set of authors [26] analyzed the usage of canes and stated that their Robotic Cane helps the blind travelers to navigate through their journey and detect the obstacles or other hazards that might prevail in the environment. They stated that the robotic cane makes independent decisions about the path; however limitation lies when the user might want to have control over the path that he takes. That is when the normal mode must be overridden to allow the user to take control of the robot. The main difference between the two technologies of Robotic cane and another cane named-Smart Cane is that Robotic cane scans the area ahead at an angle of 900 while the Smart Cane scans it at 450. This makes the Smart Cane more accurate and detailed in terms of detecting obstacles. The authors for ENVS stated that training is required for the usage of canes, whereas the testing phase of ENVS concluded that the users were able to reach their destination while avoiding obstacles and with minimum training [32]. One of the things that are missing from the usage of canes has been solved by the authors of the chosen navigation system –Tyflos; the unique feature of this system is that it offers the information about the path in two-dimensional array. This is very useful to overcome the obstacles in the way. This system will inform the user about the obstacles in x, y coordinates. Therefore, the height of the object can also be known [34]. They also state that DGPS is another technique which can be used in their systems to make navigation more accurate for blind users [35]. It offers localization with a precision of around 1m [6]. Another feature which is not present in the smart cane and robotic cane is to calculate the distance with other people. The researchers who supported the system of CyARM [32] proposed a system that calculates the distance between people to make the blind person’s mobility safer. Robotic cane and many other solutions are often equipped with audio aid of directions and obstacles, which proves futile for deaf users. The researchers who proposed IG [30] gave a very good solution for this. The system provides a quick interpretation of the environment which displayed on the tactile display so that it is quickly explored by the user (Active Touch) [31]. 5. Future Work Tyflos, can be termed as an evolving system and needs to adapt to the human desires, this is possible with emphasis on experiments and testing. DGPS is not incorporated in the navigation systems to a great extent, further research should be done in this area. Robotic devices should be made light weight for their increased usage. 6. Conclusion Displacement from one place to the other can often be considered a challenge by some blind people. In order to make this task easier for the blind people many technological solutions have been proposed over the years that are called Assistive Technologies. These tools and devices assist the blind users to make displacements from one place to place while overcoming obstacles safely. 7. Appendix The research was initiated by searching the basic terms and concepts involved with the subject. After a thorough analysis of the basics, it was realized that the subject could be categorized into different types of assistive technologies. Five categories could be found after extensive research. One paper was chosen for each category so that a good foundation could be formed and knowledge could be achieved regarding them. Papers that were written more than 10 years ago were discarded as the pace of technological development is very fast. Only those papers were chosen whose authors were able to explain their research in an organized and clear manner. Canes have been the most common means of support for the blind around the world. In this research, canes were made the focal point of analysis and to examine the technological changes that have been witnessed over the years in this field. Paper [6] mentions the evolution of canes from conventional to robotic; therefore this paper was included in the study. Paper [6] explained the advancement of computer technology in the field of travelling aids which led me to research more on the subject. It was found that robotic technology has also given several solutions for the blind which led to chose paper [26]. It was later learnt that GPS has started being incorporated with the travelling aids to help the blind guide their way. Therefore paper [32] and [34] were chosen since they explained the integration of GPS with the ETAs. One of the major drawbacks of some of the travelling aiding devices is that they are coupled with audio enabled directions. This serves to be futile for the deaf people. Therefore it was researched and found that there several solutions which deal with this issue and provide the directions on a tactile display. The papers which proposed such solutions were chosen and included in the study; [30], [32]. The research has made me realize the relevance of computer technology in our lives and has opened doors to a new dimension of possibilities of the modern age. It has revealed the development that is taking place in the respective field which I had not been aware of. Bibliography The papers that have been chosen for the research are written in bold in the text and they are: [6] E. Pissaloux, “Assistive technologies to support independent mobility of visually impaired”, IEEE, 2002. [26] I. Shim, J. Yoon, “A Robotic Cane based on Interactive Technology”, IEEE, 2002 [30] R.Velazquez, E. Fontaine, Coding the Environment in Tactile Maps for real-time guidance of the visually impaired., IEEE, 2005 [32] D. Dakopoulos, N. G. Bourbakis,”Wearable Obstacle Avoidance Electronic Travel Aids for Blind: A Survey”, IEEE Transactions on systems, Man, and CYBERNETICS, VOL. 40, NO. 1, 2009 [34] D. Dakopoulos, N. Bourbakis, “Towards a 2D Tactile Vocabulary for Navigation of Blind and Visually Impaired”, Proceedings of the 2009 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics San Antonio, TX, USA, 2009 [1] W. A. Rogers, M. A. O’Brien, A. C. McLaughlin, “Selection and Design of Input Devices for Assistive Technologies”, IEEE, 2006. [2] Access IT, “Assistive Technology”, http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?109 [3] E. Pissaloux, “A Characterization of Vision Systems for Blind People Mobility”, IEEE, 2002 [4] M. R. Lightner, D. Erdogmus, “Signal Processing Challenges in Cognitive Assistive Technology”, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine September 2008, 2008 [5] D. J. Calder, “Assistive Technology Interfaces For The Blind”, 3rd IEEE International Conference on Digital Ecosystems and Technologies, 2009 [6] E. Pissaloux, “Assistive technologies to support independent mobility of visually impaired”, IEEE, 2002. [7] A. Y. J. Szeto, “A Navigational Aid for Persons with Severe Visual Impairments: A Project in Progress”, Proceedings of the 25* Annual International Conference of the IEEE EMBS, Caneun, Mexico. 2003 [8] L. K. Au, W. H. Wu, M. A. Batalin, T. Stathopoulos, W. J. Kaiser, “Demonstration of Active Guidance with SmartCane”, International Conference on Information Processing in Sensor Networks, 2008 [9] O. Chuy Jr., Y. Hirata, Z. Wang , K. Kosuge, “Motion Control Algorithms for a New Intelligent Robotic Walker in Emulating Ambulatory Device Function”, Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Mecha-tronics & Automation Niagara Falls, Canada, 2005 [10] D. J. Calder, “Travel Aids For the Blind – The Digital Ecosystem Solution”, IEEE, 2009 [11] W. C. Mann, M. Tomita, “Perspectives on assistive devices among elderly persons with disabilities”, Technology and Disability, 1999 [12] W. C. Mann, S. Goodall, M. D. Justiss, M. Tomita, “Dissatisfaction and nonuse of assistive devices among frail elders”, Assistive Technology, 14:130 – 139, 2002 [13] S. J. Blake, “Orientation and Mobility: An Introduction for Parents”, 2003 http://blindness.growingstrong.org/ed/aa032801a.htm [14] AFB, “An Overview of Assistive Technology”, http://www.familyconnect.org/parentsite.asp?SectionID=73&DocumentID=3893 [15] Wormald International, Sensory Aide, USA [16] P. Pardo, Teletack, Seminar:AVH, Paris, 2000 [17] K. Iwatsuka, “Development of a Guide Dog System for the Blind”, IEEE, 2004, http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/CCCRV.2004.1301475 [18] H. Bateni and B. E. Maki, “Assistive devices for balance and mobility: benefits, demands, and adverse consequences”, Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 86:134–145, 2005. [19] W. Wu, L. Au, B. Jordan, T. Stathopoulos, M. Batalin, W. Kaiser, A. Vahdatpour, M. Sarrafzadeh, M. Fang, J. Chodosh. “The smartcane system: An assistive device for geriatrics. Third International Conference on Body Area Networks”, March 13-17, 2008. [20] O. Lahav, D. W. Schloerb, S. Kumar, M. A. Srinivasan, “BlindAid: a Learning Environment for Enabling People who are Blind to Explore and Navigate through Unknown Real Spaces”, IEEE, 2008 [21] R.D. Easton, B.L. Bentzen, “The effect of extended acoustic training on spatial updating in adults who are congenitally blind”, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 93(7), pp. 405-415, 1999 [22] S. Landau, W. Wiener, K. Naghshineh and E. Giusti, “Creating Accessible Science Museums With User-Activated Environmental Audio Beacons (Ping!),” Assistive Technology, 17, pp. 133–143, 2005. [23] M. C. Velez, D. S. M. Tremaine, “Understanding Visualization through Spatial Ability Differences”, 2005, http://www.caip.rutgers.edu/~mariacv/publications/vis05.pdf [24] Human-friendly, Welfare Robot System Engineering Research Center, 2000, http://hwrs.kaist.ac.kr/kr/f_intro.htm [25] F. Wong, J. S. Zelek, “Tactile & Inertial Patterns from a Long White Cane”, IEEE, 2006 [26] I. Shim, J. Yoon, “A Robotic Cane based on Interactive Technology”, IEEE, 2002 [27] J. Engelberger, “Services”, Handbook of Industrial Robotics, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1999 [28] G. E. Hendershot, J. E. Crews, ”Toward International Comparability of Survey Statistics on Visual Impairment: The DISTAB Project”, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 2006   [29] W. GHARIEB, “Smart Cane for Blinds”, IEEE, 2001 [30] R.Velazquez, E. Fontaine, Coding the Environment in Tactile Maps for real-time guidance of the visually impaired., IEEE, 2005 [31] E. Pissaloux, A vision system design for blind mobility assistance, Proc. of IEEE-EMBC, Houston, TX, USA, pp 2349-2350, 2002. [32] D. Dakopoulos, N. G. Bourbakis,”Wearable Obstacle Avoidance Electronic Travel Aids for Blind: A Survey”, IEEE Transactions on systems, Man, and CYBERNETICS, VOL. 40, NO. 1, 2009 [33] S. Meers and K. Ward, “A substitute vision system for providing 3D perception and GPS navigation via electro-tactile stimulation,” 1st Int. Conf. Sens. Technol., Palmerston North, New Zealand, 2005 [34] D. Dakopoulos, N. Bourbakis, “Towards a 2D Tactile Vocabulary for Navigation of Blind and Visually Impaired”, Proceedings of the 2009 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics San Antonio, TX, USA, 2009 [35] MIT Press Journals, http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/105474698565677 [36] K. Ito, M. Okamoto, J. Akita, T. Ono, I. Gyobu, T. Tagaki, T. Hoshi, Y. Mishima, “CyARM: An alternative aid device for blind persons,” Proc. CHI05, Portland, OR, pp. 1483–1488, 2005 [37] N. Bourbakis, R. Keefer D. Dakopoulos, “A multimodal interaction scheme between a blind user and the Tyflos Assistive prototype”, 20th IEEE International Conference on Tools with AI, Dayton, 2008. [38] L. K. Au, W. H. Wu, M. A. Batalin, W. J. Kaiser, “Active Guidance Towards Proper Cane Usage”, Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Wearable and Implantable Body Sensor Networks, 2008 [39] A. Honda, T. Shiose, Y. Kagiyama, H. Kawakami, O. Katai, “Design of Human-Machine System for estimating pattern of white cane walking”, ICROS-SICE International Joint Conference, 2009 [40] P. E. Lanigan, A. M. Paulos, A. W. Williams, D. Rossi, P. Narasimhan, “Trinetra: Assistive Technologies for Grocery Shopping for the Blind”, IEEE, 2006, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fiel5%2F4067707%2F4067708%2F04067752.pdf&authDecision=-203 [41] J. Liu, X. Sun, “A Survey of Vision Aids for the Blind”, Proceedings of the 6th World Congress on Intelligent Control and Automation, China, 2006. [42] R.Nagarajan, S. Yaacob and G.Sainarayanan, “Role of Object Identification in Sonification System for Visually Impaired,” IEEE, 2003 [43] A. Cassinelli, C. Reynolds, M. Ishikawa, Augmenting spatial awareness with Haptic Radar, IEEE, 2006 Read More