Many of the millions of blind and low-vision people in the US and around the world use mobile devices such as iPhones, taking advantage of the built-in auditory user interface. When they want to make a call or check email while walking, including when they are actively using a white cane or holding the harness of a Guide Dog, they must stop, stow the cane or curb the dog; take out the phone; hold it to the ear to hear the auditory interface (or go through the added steps of donning headphones), and use swipes and taps to navigate the device?s spoken menus. This can be slow or even dangerous in a busy/noisy location. The proposed plan is to embed a robust, weatherproof remote control device into the handle of the white cane or dog harness. The user could then simply use his/her free thumb to interact with the remote's buttons while still using the white cane or holding the dog harness. Other potential users include cyclists, runners, hikers, skiers, and other active individuals.
The team has developed a fully functional white cane handle (on a real white cane) that connects to an iPhone, and allows the user to interact with their iPhone while simultaneously using the cane as normal. The current prototype has evolved from sketches, to green foam models, to CAD models, to 3D printed dummy handles, and finally to 3D printed complete handles, with fully functioning buttons. The internal electronics for the prototype use the circuit board taken from a small Bluetooth keyboard. The buttons on the cane handle are physically wired to the keyboard circuit board's arrow keys. This works, and leverages the keyboard's existing connectivity to the phone. The team has demoed the fully functional prototype, and has started user testing to verify that the cane-to-iPhone connection works as expected, that the user can interact comfortably and effectively with the cane, and that the user can access ther iPhone while walking.
ICORPS is a program designed to train academic researchers (professors, students, scientists) in the process of taking university innovations and developing them into commercial products. Part of this process is teaching academics how to think about and how to actually engage in product development. A major portion of this involved practice and actually "doing" the tech transfer activiies. First and foremost in this is determining if there actually is a viable commercial market for the innovations that have been developed by those researchers. The team funded by this ICORPS award learned a great deal about the process of customer discovery, and made considerable progress along the path of transitioning a lab innovation into a commercially viable product. We learned by doing, inluding in-person interviews with over 100 individuals who are knowledgable stakeholders. We gained experience in the field work that is crucial for startup success, and also learned about how our innovations might serve a commercial need. Intellectual Merit. At the core of the technology we are researching, we are developing interactions, applications and devices that enable a user to control their mobile device (e.g., smart phone) without the need of a visual interface. Current interface technologies, albeit stemming from a need in the market, are not tackling the underlying issues of how to control your phone when the user should not, or cannot, directly interact with it. This is a very challenging technology and design problem. We found that there is a user need for the new kind of interface device we have developed, and we determined that there could be a business opportunity. Broader Impact. One broader impact of our technology is helping people who are blind or have low vision interact with their device, leading to greater independence and safety. This may also impact their employability, and thus have economic impacts. We also believe that there is aneed/market for our kind of system for people who are not blind, but who are using mobile devices in other contexts. Our kind of interface could lead to increased safety. Finally, the training that our team members have recieved will improve the research we conduct, and the products we develop in the future. This will lead to safety and productivity improvements for people, both those with and those without disabilities.
