Related papers: Understanding Expectations for a Robotic Guide Dog…
To help the blind people walk to the destination efficiently and safely in indoor environment, a novel wearable navigation device is presented in this paper. The locating, way-finding, route following and obstacle avoiding modules are the…
Navigation in new or unknown environments is vital, especially for visually impaired individuals. While many solutions exist, few are tailored to specific disabilities, often due to limited collaboration with handicap users in the design…
Autonomous navigation robots can increase the independence of blind people but often limit user control, following what is called in Japanese an "omakase" approach where decisions are left to the robot. This research investigates ways to…
Millions of blind and visually-impaired (BVI) people navigate urban environments every day, using smartphones for high-level path-planning and white canes or guide dogs for local information. However, many BVI people still struggle to…
Indoor built environments like homes and offices often present complex and cluttered layouts that pose significant challenges for individuals who are blind or visually impaired, especially when performing tasks that involve locating and…
Assistive agents for Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) users require accessibility alignment as a first-class design objective. Despite rapid progress in agentic AI, most systems are designed and evaluated under assumptions of sighted…
Sight is essential for humans to navigate their surrounding environment independently. Tasks that are simple for the sighted are often close to impossible for the visually impaired. Throughout the years, many researchers dedicated their…
Industrial warehouses are congested with moving forklifts, shelves and personnel, making robot teleoperation particularly risky and demanding for blind and low-vision (BLV) operators. Although accessible teleoperation plays a key role in…
The number of visually impaired or blind (VIB) people in the world is estimated at several hundred million. Based on a series of interviews with the VIB and developers of assistive technology, this paper provides a survey of…
Personal mobile robotic assistants are expected to find wide applications in industry and healthcare. For example, people with limited mobility can benefit from robots helping with daily tasks, or construction workers can have robots…
In recent decades, several assistive technologies have been developed to improve the ability of blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals to navigate independently and safely. At the same time, simultaneous localization and mapping…
Robotics has shown significant potential in assisting people with disabilities to enhance their independence and involvement in daily activities. Indeed, a societal long-term impact is expected in home-care assistance with the deployment of…
Visually-guided underwater robots are deployed alongside human divers for cooperative exploration, inspection, and monitoring tasks in numerous shallow-water and coastal-water applications. The most essential capability of such companion…
People with visual impairments (PVI) use a variety of assistive technologies to navigate their daily lives, and conversational AI (CAI) tools are a growing part of this toolset. Much existing HCI research has focused on the technical…
Actively participating in body movement such as dance, sports, and fitness activities is challenging for people who are blind or have low vision (BLV). Teachers primarily rely on verbal instructions and physical demonstrations with limited…
Mobile telepresence robots (MTRs) have become increasingly popular in the expanding world of remote work, providing new avenues for people to actively participate in activities at a distance. However, humans operating MTRs often have…
Quadruped platforms have become an active topic of research due to their high mobility and traversability in rough terrain. However, it is highly challenging to determine whether the clattered environment could be passed by the robot and…
According to the World Health Organization, visual impairment is estimated to affect approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide. The visually impaired must currently rely on navigational aids to replace their sense of sight, like a white…
Assistive robotic systems have shown growing potential to improve the quality of life of those with disabilities. As researchers explore the automation of various caregiving tasks, considerations for how the technology can still preserve…
To promote empathy with people that have disabilities, we propose a multi-sensory interactive experience that allows sighted users to embody having a visual impairment whilst using assistive technologies. The experiment involves blindfolded…