Anti-Veering Vibrotactile HMD for Assistance of Blind Pedestrians

Veering is a common experience for blind pedestrians and for individuals walking in unfamiliar spaces. In this paper, we assess a vibrotactile Head-Mounted Display to assist blind individuals to walk straight from a point to another. Our goal was to assess such device for both assistance and self-Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training to provide more autonomy to blind pedestrians. Blind and blindfolded subjects performed a series of assisted and non-assisted sessions to verify how deviation errors are modulated according to the use of the device. Moreover, the vibrotactile feedback was compared to audible walking signals commonly present in many road-cross scenarios, as well as in traditional O&M sessions. Performance and subjective measures were assessed as a function of stimulus modality and group profile. Results show that the vibrotactile feedback significantly reduces the veering for both sighted and blind subjects.