Abstract
Measuring a distance through an ultrasonic sensor and creating haptic alert information by a vibrotactile actuator are two major functions in an electronic aid for a visually impaired person. It is quite challenging to combine and to efficiently execute these two functions with a single module. Thus, this study presents a new structure that measures the distance and generates haptic information with only one module. The design focus of the proposed module is to maximize its vibrotactile amplitude and to minimize its measured distance error. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed module, a test setup was constructed. Using the setup, the vibrotactile strength of the proposed module was investigated according to the input frequency, and then the distance between the proposed module and a target object was measured. The results show that the proposed module effectively produces haptic information while measuring the distance well between the module and a target object.
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Dong-Soo Choi Ph.D. student in the Interdisciplinary Program in Creative Engineering, Korea University of Technology and Education. His research interests are Haptic actuator and Pressure sensor.
Tae-Heon Yang Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering, Korea National University of Transportation. His research interests are Haptic Sensor and Actuator, Haptic Interface, and Medical Simulator.
Won-Chul Bang Vice President in Samsung Electronics. His research interests are Artificial Intelligence, Image & Signal Processing, Human-Computer Interaction.
Sang-Youn Kim Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Korea University of Technology and Education. His research interests are Human-Computer Interaction, Virtual Reality, and Haptics Machine.
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Choi, DS., Yang, TH., Bang, WC. et al. Design of a Multi-Functional Module for Visually Impaired Persons. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 19, 1745–1751 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-018-0202-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-018-0202-0