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Presentation
Assistive Technology Design
University of West Florida Libraries
Student Scholar Symposium & Faculty Research Showcase (University of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida, 04/20/2023)
04/20/2023
Abstract
When I met an individual suffering from Stargardt Disease, I felt inspired to create an artistic prototype device to assist the visually impaired. Stargardt Disease is the vision loss condition that causes a gradual blurring in the center of the sufferer’s field of vision, gradually creating dependence on peripheral vision and eventually causing total blindness. Walking in unfamiliar settings and crossing traffic intersections are particularly difficult for the visually impaired, including those with Stargardt Disease. Large cities might provide audio aids built into crosswalks but such measures hardly exist elsewhere. Limited accessibility to assistive technologies for visually impaired pedestrians became the greater social issue inspiring my interdisciplinary research to design a 3D-printed electronic sculpture. How can User Experience research inform the design process of an assistive device? Personal testimonies on the Internet describe the everyday difficulties facing sufferers of visual impairment and a range of devices used to manage them. How can 3D design and electronic media aid in the development of assistive technology for this condition? My fascination manifested into an experimental design for an assistive device that competed with the numerous aids needed every day by the visually impaired. I imagined a lightweight, handheld device that anyone with a 3D printer could download and print. Developing a simplified design process allows the project to contribute to open-source research and accessibility. Thus, the wiring and programming instructions to recreate the project would also require little expertise. The design will be composed of two sensor modules that act as eyes to detect obstacles to alert the user of left and right-side obstacles within a 6-meter range and provide haptic, audio, and light feedback. The visually impaired pedestrian will carry the device in either hand aimed ahead of them to receive instant feedback. This interpretive model could lay new foundations in the development of assistive technology for sensory perception disabilities.
Details
- Title
- Assistive Technology Design
- Resource Type
- Presentation
- Event
- Student Scholar Symposium & Faculty Research Showcase (University of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida, 04/20/2023)
- Contributors
- Thomas F Asmuth (Faculty Mentor) - University of West Florida, Art and Design
- Publisher
- University of West Florida Libraries; Argo Scholar Commons
- Format
- link and pdf
- Copyright
- Permission granted to the University of West Florida Libraries by the author to digitize and/or display this information for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires the permission of the copyright holder.
- Identifiers
- 99380476495706600
- Academic Unit
- 2023 Student Scholars Symposium and Faculty Research Showcase; Art and Design; College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities; Office of Undergraduate Research
- Language
- English