Sensory Substitution Device Shape-Change Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sensory substitution devices do not adequately communicate useful information derived from technologies like computer vision and SLAM to visually impaired individuals, particularly in conveying spatial information non-visually.
Innovation Solution
A sensory substitution device equipped with spatial sensors and a shape-change mechanism that alters its shape based on spatial sensor data to provide kinaesthetic output, indicating target positions or paths to visually impaired users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If existing sensory substitution devices use audio cues or vibration to communicate spatial information, then the device complexity is reduced, but the information bandwidth and precision of spatial communication deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical vibration mechanisms with a shape-change mechanism that utilizes controlled deformation of the device body. This substitution enables richer tactile feedback patterns (stretching, bending, twisting) that can encode more precise spatial information while maintaining reasonable device complexity through integration with existing computational vision systems.
2Loss of information
If the device provides detailed 3D spatial information through shape changes, then the information bandwidth increases, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shape-change mechanism serves multiple functions: it communicates directional information, indicates distance, signals target acquisition, and provides tactile feedback for navigation. By making the device body itself the communication medium, the system achieves high information bandwidth without proportionally increasing device complexity, as the same structural elements perform both mechanical support and information encoding roles.
3Manufacturing precision
If the device uses plane-constrained motion for shape changes, then the manufacturing precision is easier to achieve, but the adaptability to 3D spatial navigation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from plane-constrained motion to three-dimensional shape changes, enabling the device to bend, twist, and deform in multiple directions. This dimensional expansion allows the device to encode complex 3D spatial information and navigate三维 environments effectively. The mechanism achieves this by allowing motion beyond a single plane while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through controlled deformation of the device body structure.
Data Source
AI summary
Sensory substitution devices are provided. A first such device comprises (i) a spatial sensor configured to provide spatial sensor data indicative of a spatial representation of an environment in which the device is located; and (ii) a shape-change mechanism operable to cause the device to change shape, based on the spatial sensor data, to provide kinaesthetic output to a user of the device, wherein the kinaesthetic output is indicative of a target position in the environment. A second such device comprises (i) a sensor operable, in use, to output sensor data representative of an environment in which the device is being used by a user of the device; and (ii) a mechanism operable to cause the device to change shape, based on the output data, with motion that is not plane-constrained, whereby to provide proprioceptive output to the user. Other such example devices are provided.