ABSTRACT

One of the challenges faced by blind persons to achieve optimal mobility is the detection and avoidance of obstacles located in their travel path. Besides the widely used white cane, alternative or complementary devices have been developed, such as electronic aids that provide feedback about the environment. However, the devices available have been unable to provide an optimal solution with widespread acceptance, motivating the present work. The eBAT (electronic Buzzer for Autonomous Travel) is designed to offer optimal protection and employs the user’s own mobile phone for easier use and reduced manufacturing costs. For this work, a group of 25 blind individuals was used to validate the eBAT based on the single-subject with reversal method (ABA study). The results show a significant decrease in the number of involuntary contacts in an unknown travel path between the first phase of the study, which did not involve the eBAT, and the second, where it was used. When the device was again removed in the third phase, the number of contacts rose. We may therefore conclude that the eBAT fills an important gap in mobility aids for blind people, yielding a clear benefit by reducing the participants’ feeling of insecurity.

摘要

盲人实现最佳移动性所面临的挑战之一是检测和避开位于其行进路径中的障碍物。除了广泛使用的白手杖外，还开发了替代或补充设备，例如提供有关环境的反馈的电子辅助设备。然而，可用的设备无法提供广泛接受的最佳解决方案，从而推动了目前的工作。eBAT（自动驾驶电子蜂鸣器）旨在提供最佳保护，并采用用户自己的手机，以便于使用并降低制造成本。对于这项工作，一组 25 名盲人被用来验证基于单一受试者逆转方法的 eBAT（ABA 研究）。结果显示，在研究的第一阶段（不涉及 eBAT）和第二阶段（使用 eBAT）之间的未知旅行路径中，非自愿接触的数量显着减少。当设备在第三阶段再次被移除时，接触的数量增加了。因此，我们可以得出结论，eBAT 填补了盲人助行器的一个重要空白，通过减少参与者的不安全感产生了明显的好处。