Wearable Robotic Object Manipulation Aids Visually Impaired
From: Medical Design Technology - 09/11/2015

A project at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock that could help
millions of visually impaired people will move forward thanks to funding from
the National Institutes of Health.

The three-year $820,263 grant will enable Dr. Cang Ye, a UALR professor in
the Department of Systems Engineering, to develop a Wearable Robotic Object
Manipulation Aid (W-ROMA). He will conduct the work with his research
collaborator, Dr. Yantao Shen of the University of Nevada, Reno, and a team
of postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students.

Equipped with a camera, the device will detect objects wearers need to move
or use and then guide them to take hold of the items.

The planned device, which would be worn on the user's hand, is intended to
make it easier for visually impaired people to remove obstacles, such as a
chair in their path, and perform essential tasks, such as finding a door
handle.

Because the device would communicate with its wearer about the location,
shape, and size of objects in a meaningful, yet unobtrusive way, it could
provide more independence and improved safety, Ye said.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.mdtmag.com/news/2015/09/wearable-robotic-object-manipulation-aids-visually-impaired

Link:
Researchers working on robotic device that could help millions
http://ualr.edu/news/2015/09/08/robotic-device-research-visually-impaired-grant-nih

Cang Ye
http://ualr.edu/cxye