The project conducted in partial requirement to obtain bachelor’s diploma in Cognitive Science from Jagiellonian University.
A program that simulates the direction of incoming obstacles. The person has to determine from which side the obstacle is coming using arrows. The code was inspired by the project: https://github.com/bhaptics/tact-python
Pre-registration of the project available here: https://osf.io/awj6t.
Haptic feedback is a tool used to help navigate a constantly changing environment (Kaul et al., 2021, Gay et al., 2020, Klatzky et al., 2006). Because it can warn of impending danger without distracting attention from the leading task, it can be used to alert drivers to approaching obstacles (vehicles) (Di & Campli San Vito et al., 2019). Additionally, it can be used to navigate visually impaired people and alert them to the dangerous obstacles around them.
One of the tools which allow for the transmission of tactile information about danger is the tactile vest. There are many different combinations of engine activation possible to activate through these tools.
The research purpose of this project is to determine which tactile pattern could be used in a navigation warning system to best facilitate performance (specifically shortening user’s reaction time with low cognitive load).
The tactile patterns included in this project are three vibrotactile engine stimuli presented on the haptic vest informing of an obstacle coming from the subject's left or right. Two of them are pinpoint stimuli consisting of either one or four vibrotactile engines (arranged in a column) which suggest the direction of the incoming danger based on their location (left or right side of the vest's back). There is also one pattern composed of three vibrotactile engines that activate one by one creating a wave that suggests the direction of the incoming danger by the movement.
Results of this study may contribute to the development of the current navigation warning system for blind people or can be used in cars or other vehicles to increase road safety.
Repeated-measures design wherein reaction time and accuracy of the prediction of the direction of incoming danger are measured in response to 3 different conditions of patterns (one vibrotactile engine, a column of four vibrotactile engines, a wave created by three vibrotactile motors activated one after the other) across 2 conditions (on the left and right side of the back).
We designed a study in which the subject is asked to recognize the direction (left or right) of incoming danger by correct and quick recognition of tactile patterns simulated by the bHaptics TackSuit X40 haptic vest. Three types of stimuli are designed: one pinpoint vibrotactile engine on the left or right side of the vest, a column of four pinpoint vibrotactile engines activated at the same time on the left or right side of the vest (a column pattern condition), a row of three vibrotactile engines that turn on, one after the other to suggest the direction of an approaching obstacle by movement (a wave pattern condition). The participants will have to click the "q" or "p" keyboard button according to the direction they believe the obstacle will occur.
After the test, individuals complete a NASA TLX questionnaire (available here: https://humansystems.arc.nasa.gov/groups/TLX/) that allows subjective determination of perceived workload to assess a task.
- The first pattern involves activating a single engine on the left or right side of the vest on the back. The vibration has a constant intensity and lasts for 3s.
- The second pattern - "a column pattern condition" - refers to the activation of four motors located one below the other on the left or right side of the vest on the back (forming a column). The motors are activated simultaneously and have a constant intensity. A single stimulus lasts 3s.
- The third pattern - "a wave pattern condition" - involves activating three engines, located in the middle row of the vest, one after the other creating a vibration wave from left to right or vice versa. Each of the motors is active for 1s. Automatically when the activation of one is over, the next engine turns on. Each vibration has a fixed frequency.
The test subjects' task is to click the "q" key, respectively, if a motor on the left side of the vest is activated or "a wave pattern” condition stimulus ends on the left side, or "p" if an engine on the right side of the vest is activated or "a wave pattern” condition stimulus ends on the right side.
Sources:
- TLX Tool: Task Load Index, T. N. (n.d.). TLX @ NASA Ames - Home. TLX @ NASA Ames - Home. Retrieved December 26, 2022, from https://humansystems.arc.nasa.gov/groups/tlx/
- Kaul, O. B., Rohs, M., Mogalle, M., & Simon, B. (2021, August 31). Around-the-Head Tactile System for Supporting Micro Navigation of People with Visual Impairments. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 28(4), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1145/3458021
- Gay, J., Umfahrer, M., Theil, A., Buchweitz, L., Lindell, E., Guo, L., Persson, N. K., & Korn, O. (2020, October 26). Keep Your Distance: A Playful Haptic Navigation Wearable for Individuals with Deafblindness. The 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility. https://doi.org/10.1145/3373625.3418048
- Di Campli San Vito, P., Shakeri, G., Brewster, S., Pollick, F., Brown, E., Skrypchuk, L., & Mouzakitis, A. (2019, May 2). Haptic Navigation Cues on the Steering Wheel. Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300440
- Klatzky, R. L., Marston, J. R., Giudice, N. A., Golledge, R. G., & Loomis, J. M. (2006). Cognitive load of navigating without vision when guided by virtual sound versus spatial language. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 12(4), 223–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-898x.12.4.223
- Chang, H. J., K. Huang, and C. Wu. "Determination of sample size in using central limit theorem for weibull distribution." International Journal of Information and Management Sciences, Vol. 17, No. 3. 2006, pp. 153-174.
- https://www.bhaptics.com/tactsuit/tactsuit-x40