Thermal imaging aid for the blind.

To explore the efficacy of using a far infrared thermal camera with a haptic display to assist blind people in identifying humans, we performed experiments with a prototype device on five low-vision (functionally blind) subjects. Infrared allows for easy detection of human shape due to typically high contrast in temperatures from a person against their surrounding environment. Infrared cameras can be made small and inexpensive with uncooled microbolometer technology. Our study showed a great willingness by the blind subjects to use such a device after a short training session and both successful and unsuccessful operation. Future work will further develop the technology and undertake more expansive testing. HE National Institutes of Health estimate that 120,000 Americans are blind, either totally or with light perception only. A smaller group, on the order of 20,000, has severe hearing and vision impairments and relies on tactile information almost exclusively to interact with the world around them. The idea of taking a normal-light visual image and presenting it to a blind person with a haptic interface has been explored for over three decades. These explorations have not resulted in significant gains due to the inherent complexity of converting real world visible image information into meaningful haptic information that can be quickly processed by a user. Generally, only the simplest images can be successfully communicated on a haptic display. Simple criteria, such as light intensity or color information, can not be used to identify the presence of people who are often the most important elements in a scene. It is generally accepted that tactually rendering all the information in a visible-light image leads to an overly cluttered, un-interpretable tactile representation (1). Sophisticated image processing can help identify the presence of people, but realizing a low-cost, unobtrusive device based on complex processing is a significant