METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING GRAPHICAL INFORMATION TO A VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSON USING HAPTIC FEEDBACK

摘要

An apparatus for providing a haptic feedback for enabling a visually impaired person to mentally visualize an image that includes at least one line, is arranged to store graphical information data corresponding to the image is stored. A portable, handheld device (40) including position sensing means (44) is manually movable by the visually impaired person through an adjacent space, for providing a position signal representative of a current position within the space to where the device (40) is moved by the person. The stored graphical information data is compared with the position signal to generate a haptic output activation signal when the current position of the device is determined to overlap an image line. The position signal in the space is relatable to the stored graphical information. A tactile feedback mechanism (10) in the portable device is responsive to the haptic output activation signal for providing to the person a tactile indication to create a mental image that the current position of the device is at a line of the image.