Research

Researchers listed alphabetically by surname

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H

David Harkey, Associate Director for Operations
The University of North Carolina, Highway Safety Research Center: CB# 3430, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States of America.
Tel: +1 919 962 2202 or 800 672 4527
Fax: +1 919 962 8710
Email: david_harkey@unc.edu
Web: www.hsrc.unc.edu/

Current & recent projects

Guidelines for Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS)
Co-worker(s): Herman Huang; Janet Barlow; Billie L. Bentzen; Linda Myers; Alan Scott
The objectives of this research are: 1) To develop guidelines on the functional requirements and the installation of APS devices; and 2) To produce training materials that will facilitate the application of the guidelines. The guidelines will explain the functional intent of APS devices, various means of meeting this intent through tones, verbal messages, transmitted messages and/or tactile indicators, circumstances under which APS devices should be installed, and installation, positioning and orientation of APS devices for optimal use by pedestrians who have visual or visual and hearing impairment, as well as pedestrians who use wheelchairs.
Project end date: 10/2001
Project end date: 03/2006

Last updated: 07/01/2008

Prof. Vincent Hayward
Centre for Intelligent Machines, Room 440, McConnell Eng. Bldg., McGill University, 3480 University Street, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3A 2A7.
Tel: + 514 398 5006
Fax: + 514 398 7348
Email: hayward@cim.mcgill.ca
Web: www.cim.mcgill.ca/
Publications

Current & recent projects

Virtual Braille
Development of the STReSS2 tactile display. This is an extension of previous work on the laterotactile display of braille dots (see Virtual Braille Dots, below). The current project has made it possible to experiment with the display of complete Braille characters by lateral skin deformation.

Haptic Memory Game
Developed to demonstrate the capabilities of the STReSS2 tactile display. It uses the display to render tactile graphics with three types of sensations: dot patterns, grating textures and vibrations.

Virtual Braille Dots
This project investigated the feasibility of rendering Braille dots using laterotactile stimulation. This collaboration between the Haptics Laboratory and VisuAide Inc. resulted in the development of the VBD.

Design of haptic stimuli for mobile devices
This project explores and tries to quantify the expressive capabilities of the THMB (pronounced thumb) device, a version of the VBD that has been miniaturized to fit inside a PDA-like case.

Tracking of skin deformation
Developing rendering algorithms for laterotactile displays is challenging. This project explored a novel approach to the problem that consists in imaging fingerprint deformations during tactile exploration and applying image processing algorithms to track features and changes in local skin strain.

Detailed information on the above projects can be found at: www.cim.mcgill.ca/~haptic/laterotactile/projects/

Last updated: 31/10/2007

Prof. Morton A. Heller
Eastern Illinois University, 1151 Physical Sciences Building, Department of Pyschology, 600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, Illinois 61920, United States of America.
Tel: +1 217 581 2127/2323
Email: maheller@eiu.edu
Web: http://psych.eiu.edu/
Publications

Current & recent projects

Haptic Spatial Perception in the Sighted and the Blind
This research aims to determine how to produce pictures that best convey spatial information through the sense of touch. It will also lead to knowledge about whether some viewpoints in tangible pictures are not useful for people who were born without sight. In addition, the research will tell us whether there are important differences in touch perception in sighted and blind persons, and provide information about how to educate people to use touch to cope with those differences.
Project start date: 01/07/2003
Project end date: 01/07/2007

Last updated: 11/12/2007

Dr. Nick Hine
University of Dundee, School of Computing, Park Wynd, Dundee DD1 4HN, UK.
Tel: +44 1382 344151
Fax: +44 1382 345509
Email: nhine@computing.dundee.ac.uk
Web: www.computing.dundee.ac.uk/

Current & recent projects

AT Commands for Assistive Mobile Device Interfaces
Participant organisations: ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute

An eEurope community that allows everyone fair access to advanced information and communication services must include those citizens whose disabilities are such that they cannot use devices designed for all. For this group of users, often with multiple disabilities, it is crucial that affordable, effective and usable assistive devices be available. These devices must be able to easily connect to and interact with a multitude of fixed and mobile ICT devices.
Project start date: 31/03/2006
Project end date: 31/03/2008

Last updated: 19/03/2008

Dr Amy Horowitz
Arlene R Gordon Research Institute, The Lighthouse Inc, 111 East 59th Street, New York, New York 10022, United States of America.
Tel: +1 212 821 9525
Email: ahorowitz@lighthouse.org
Web: http://www.lighthouse.org/
Publications

Current & recent projects

Control Strategies and Mental Health in Impaired Elders
Co-worker(s): Joann P. Reinhardt; Mark Brennan; Kathrin Boerner
The objective of this research is to examine the strategies that older adults with visual impairment use to balance and rebalance control in daily life, and to understand the effect of using these strategies over time. The study will specifically examine the use of life-span control issues in older adults with age-related vision loss due to macular degeneration and how using or not using control strategies relates to their overall well-being.
Project start date: 05/2002
Project end date: 04/2007

Driving Transitions and Mental Health in Impaired Elders
Co-worker(s): Joann P. Reinhardt; Kathrin Boerner
The transition from driver to ex-driver is a challenging turning-point for older disabled adults that can influence not only mobility, but also social ties, the ability to work, one’s sense of independence, and public safety. The purpose of this longitudinal study is to examine the ways older adults with vision problems adapt and make decisions about driving and mobility. The study specifically seeks to identify the personal, social, and contextual factors that contribute to the decision to self-regulate or stop driving entirely. We will also look at how changes in driving behavior impact well-being. Information obtained from this project can be used by rehabilitation and mental health professionals and community-based, governmental and private programs that focus on assisting older drivers with driving transitions.
Project start date: 5/2004
Project end date: 4/2009

Last updated: 07/01/2008

Dr Mark S. Humayun
University of Southern California, Doheny Eye Institute, Keck School of Medicine, 1450 San Pablo Street, DEI 3615, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States of America.
Tel: +1 323 442 6335
Fax: +1 323 442 6519
Email: humayun@usc.edu
Web: www.doheny.org/

Current & recent projects

Artificial Retina Project
The DOE Artificial Retina Project is a multi-institutional collaborative effort to develop and implant a device containing an array of microelectrodes into the eyes of people blinded by retinal disease. The ultimate goal is to design a device with hundreds to a thousand microelectrodes. This resolution will help restore limited vision that enables reading, unaided mobility, and facial recognition. In a breakthrough operation performed in 2002, a team led by Humayun successfully implanted the first device of its kind—an array containing 16 microelectrodes—into the eye of a patient who had been blind for more than 50 years. Since then, 5 additional volunteers have had devices implanted, all with encouraging results. This device now enables patients to distinguish light from dark and localize large objects.
Ongoing

Last updated: 08/01/2008

Audrey Hunter
University of Ulster, Faculty of Computing and Engineering, School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Jordanstown Campus, Shore Road, Newton Abbey BT37 0QB, UK.
Tel: +44 28 9036 6305
Fax: +44 28 9036 8229
Email: informatics@ulster.ac.uk
Web: www.compeng.ulster.ac.uk/

Current & recent projects

An Evolvable Computer Interface for Elderly Users
The aim of the project is to develop an intelligent help facility that assists elderly users with browsing activities. The facility will be capable of responding to each person's specific needs and actions. The system will recognise individual user interaction patterns and be able to identify when a user needs help. The system will then offer the appropriate level of help and retain details of successful interventions for retrieval in the future.
Project start date: 01/10/2006
Project end date: 30/09/2009

Last updated: 19/03/2008