Individuals with and without Visual Impairments Use a Force Feedback Device to Identify the Friction and Hardness of Haptic Surfaces
The general purpose of this study is to promote access to haptic virtual environments. Using a haptic device, people with and without visual impairments (VI) are able to feel different textures and compare these textures based on different surface properties, i.e., friction and hardness. The objecti...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/24/9745 |
| _version_ | 1827636973676789760 |
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| author | Konstantinos Papadopoulos Eleni Koustriava Evangelia Georgoula Vaia Kalpia |
| author_facet | Konstantinos Papadopoulos Eleni Koustriava Evangelia Georgoula Vaia Kalpia |
| author_sort | Konstantinos Papadopoulos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The general purpose of this study is to promote access to haptic virtual environments. Using a haptic device, people with and without visual impairments (VI) are able to feel different textures and compare these textures based on different surface properties, i.e., friction and hardness. The objectives of this study were to examine the following: (a) whether the variables of friction and hardness were identifiable through the Touch device (Phantom Omni) and could therefore function as 3D haptic variables; (b) if there were differences between people with VI and sighted individuals in terms of their performance; (c) the differences that should exist between the values of each variable so that the virtual surfaces could be identified as different to each other; and (d) if the individual characteristics of participants have an impact on their performance. The results showed that it is necessary to use surfaces which are differentiated based on the degree of friction and hardness because the haptic properties of a virtual object are then better perceived. Individuals with VI need more time and more effort to understand friction and hardness, respectively. With the motivation of increasing access to object perception for people with VI in a virtual environment, accessibility advisors and experts can extract useful information for the development of functional and efficient 3D objects for haptic perception. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:52:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cce2121b2d0f46fca90c54f32c764f94 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:52:56Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-cce2121b2d0f46fca90c54f32c764f942023-11-24T17:54:38ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-12-012224974510.3390/s22249745Individuals with and without Visual Impairments Use a Force Feedback Device to Identify the Friction and Hardness of Haptic SurfacesKonstantinos Papadopoulos0Eleni Koustriava1Evangelia Georgoula2Vaia Kalpia3Department of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceThe general purpose of this study is to promote access to haptic virtual environments. Using a haptic device, people with and without visual impairments (VI) are able to feel different textures and compare these textures based on different surface properties, i.e., friction and hardness. The objectives of this study were to examine the following: (a) whether the variables of friction and hardness were identifiable through the Touch device (Phantom Omni) and could therefore function as 3D haptic variables; (b) if there were differences between people with VI and sighted individuals in terms of their performance; (c) the differences that should exist between the values of each variable so that the virtual surfaces could be identified as different to each other; and (d) if the individual characteristics of participants have an impact on their performance. The results showed that it is necessary to use surfaces which are differentiated based on the degree of friction and hardness because the haptic properties of a virtual object are then better perceived. Individuals with VI need more time and more effort to understand friction and hardness, respectively. With the motivation of increasing access to object perception for people with VI in a virtual environment, accessibility advisors and experts can extract useful information for the development of functional and efficient 3D objects for haptic perception.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/24/9745haptic devicessurface frictionsurface hardnessvisual impairments |
| spellingShingle | Konstantinos Papadopoulos Eleni Koustriava Evangelia Georgoula Vaia Kalpia Individuals with and without Visual Impairments Use a Force Feedback Device to Identify the Friction and Hardness of Haptic Surfaces Sensors haptic devices surface friction surface hardness visual impairments |
| title | Individuals with and without Visual Impairments Use a Force Feedback Device to Identify the Friction and Hardness of Haptic Surfaces |
| title_full | Individuals with and without Visual Impairments Use a Force Feedback Device to Identify the Friction and Hardness of Haptic Surfaces |
| title_fullStr | Individuals with and without Visual Impairments Use a Force Feedback Device to Identify the Friction and Hardness of Haptic Surfaces |
| title_full_unstemmed | Individuals with and without Visual Impairments Use a Force Feedback Device to Identify the Friction and Hardness of Haptic Surfaces |
| title_short | Individuals with and without Visual Impairments Use a Force Feedback Device to Identify the Friction and Hardness of Haptic Surfaces |
| title_sort | individuals with and without visual impairments use a force feedback device to identify the friction and hardness of haptic surfaces |
| topic | haptic devices surface friction surface hardness visual impairments |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/24/9745 |
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