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Impact of a vibrotactile belt on emotionally challenging everyday situations of the blind

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Impact of a vibrotactile belt on emotionally challenging everyday situations of the blind. / Brandebusemeyer, Charlotte; Luther, Anna Ricarda; König, Sabine U.; König, Peter; Kärcher, Silke M.

In: SENSORS-BASEL, Vol. 21, No. 21, 7384, 06.11.2021.

Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Brandebusemeyer, C, Luther, AR, König, SU, König, P & Kärcher, SM 2021, 'Impact of a vibrotactile belt on emotionally challenging everyday situations of the blind', SENSORS-BASEL, vol. 21, no. 21, 7384. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21217384

APA

Brandebusemeyer, C., Luther, A. R., König, S. U., König, P., & Kärcher, S. M. (2021). Impact of a vibrotactile belt on emotionally challenging everyday situations of the blind. SENSORS-BASEL, 21(21), [7384]. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21217384

Vancouver

Brandebusemeyer C, Luther AR, König SU, König P, Kärcher SM. Impact of a vibrotactile belt on emotionally challenging everyday situations of the blind. SENSORS-BASEL. 2021 Nov 6;21(21). 7384. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21217384

Bibtex

@article{23a0cf6b93304d6b85d56e9c47f5fe5c,
title = "Impact of a vibrotactile belt on emotionally challenging everyday situations of the blind",
abstract = "Spatial orientation and navigation depend primarily on vision. Blind people lack this critical source of information. To facilitate wayfinding and to increase the feeling of safety for these people, the “feelSpace belt” was developed. The belt signals magnetic north as a fixed reference frame via vibrotactile stimulation. This study investigates the effect of the belt on typical orientation and navigation tasks and evaluates the emotional impact. Eleven blind subjects wore the belt daily for seven weeks. Before, during and after the study period, they filled in questionnaires to document their experiences. A small sub-group of the subjects took part in behavioural experiments before and after four weeks of training, i.e., a straight-line walking task to evaluate the belt{\textquoteright}s effect on keeping a straight heading, an angular rotation task to examine effects on egocentric orientation, and a triangle completion navigation task to test the ability to take shortcuts. The belt reduced subjective discomfort and increased confidence during navigation. Additionally, the participants felt safer wearing the belt in various outdoor situations. Furthermore, the behavioural tasks point towards an intuitive comprehension of the belt. Altogether, the blind participants benefited from the vibrotactile belt as an assistive technology in challenging everyday situations.",
keywords = "Assistive technology, Blindness, Navigation, Orientation, Safety, Vibrotactile belt",
author = "Charlotte Brandebusemeyer and Luther, {Anna Ricarda} and K{\"o}nig, {Sabine U.} and Peter K{\"o}nig and K{\"a}rcher, {Silke M.}",
note = "Funding Information: We want to thank the German association of the blind (Deutsche Blinden-und Sehbehindertenverband, DBSV) and the rehabilitation teachers for the blind for their support in providing test subjects. Further, we want to thank the blind persons who gave valuable insights into their navigation and orientation habits before the study to facilitate communication with the participants of the study. We also want to acknowledge the work of Mareike Bordasch in data collection and initial analysis. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",
year = "2021",
month = nov,
day = "6",
doi = "10.3390/s21217384",
language = "English",
volume = "21",
journal = "SENSORS-BASEL",
issn = "1424-8220",
publisher = "Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)",
number = "21",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Impact of a vibrotactile belt on emotionally challenging everyday situations of the blind

AU - Brandebusemeyer, Charlotte

AU - Luther, Anna Ricarda

AU - König, Sabine U.

AU - König, Peter

AU - Kärcher, Silke M.

N1 - Funding Information: We want to thank the German association of the blind (Deutsche Blinden-und Sehbehindertenverband, DBSV) and the rehabilitation teachers for the blind for their support in providing test subjects. Further, we want to thank the blind persons who gave valuable insights into their navigation and orientation habits before the study to facilitate communication with the participants of the study. We also want to acknowledge the work of Mareike Bordasch in data collection and initial analysis. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

PY - 2021/11/6

Y1 - 2021/11/6

N2 - Spatial orientation and navigation depend primarily on vision. Blind people lack this critical source of information. To facilitate wayfinding and to increase the feeling of safety for these people, the “feelSpace belt” was developed. The belt signals magnetic north as a fixed reference frame via vibrotactile stimulation. This study investigates the effect of the belt on typical orientation and navigation tasks and evaluates the emotional impact. Eleven blind subjects wore the belt daily for seven weeks. Before, during and after the study period, they filled in questionnaires to document their experiences. A small sub-group of the subjects took part in behavioural experiments before and after four weeks of training, i.e., a straight-line walking task to evaluate the belt’s effect on keeping a straight heading, an angular rotation task to examine effects on egocentric orientation, and a triangle completion navigation task to test the ability to take shortcuts. The belt reduced subjective discomfort and increased confidence during navigation. Additionally, the participants felt safer wearing the belt in various outdoor situations. Furthermore, the behavioural tasks point towards an intuitive comprehension of the belt. Altogether, the blind participants benefited from the vibrotactile belt as an assistive technology in challenging everyday situations.

AB - Spatial orientation and navigation depend primarily on vision. Blind people lack this critical source of information. To facilitate wayfinding and to increase the feeling of safety for these people, the “feelSpace belt” was developed. The belt signals magnetic north as a fixed reference frame via vibrotactile stimulation. This study investigates the effect of the belt on typical orientation and navigation tasks and evaluates the emotional impact. Eleven blind subjects wore the belt daily for seven weeks. Before, during and after the study period, they filled in questionnaires to document their experiences. A small sub-group of the subjects took part in behavioural experiments before and after four weeks of training, i.e., a straight-line walking task to evaluate the belt’s effect on keeping a straight heading, an angular rotation task to examine effects on egocentric orientation, and a triangle completion navigation task to test the ability to take shortcuts. The belt reduced subjective discomfort and increased confidence during navigation. Additionally, the participants felt safer wearing the belt in various outdoor situations. Furthermore, the behavioural tasks point towards an intuitive comprehension of the belt. Altogether, the blind participants benefited from the vibrotactile belt as an assistive technology in challenging everyday situations.

KW - Assistive technology

KW - Blindness

KW - Navigation

KW - Orientation

KW - Safety

KW - Vibrotactile belt

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118419198&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/s21217384

DO - 10.3390/s21217384

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 34770689

AN - SCOPUS:85118419198

VL - 21

JO - SENSORS-BASEL

JF - SENSORS-BASEL

SN - 1424-8220

IS - 21

M1 - 7384

ER -