S3 Technologies Presents Tactile Vision Glove for The Blind S3 Technologies: Shaun Marlatt Sam Zahed Sina Afrooze ENSC 340 Presentation: December 17, 2004

Overview  Meet The Team  Introduce Product  Purpose and Market  Marketability  Technical Aspects  Wrap Up

Meet The Team  S3 Technologies  Group Leader and CEO  Shaun Marlatt  CFO  Sam Zahed  COO  Sina Afrooze

Purpose and Market  Problem  Blind People need a device to help them ‘see’  Market  104,187 Visually impaired, blind and deafblind persons in Canada. (CNIB Statistic, 2002)  Current Solutions  Walking Sticks  Seeing Eye Dogs  Laser Equipped Walking Sticks ($3000 US)  Electronic Eye ( under development, risk of infection )

The S3 Solution  Tactile Vision Glove  Idea – Converts vision into a sense of touch  Simple, low-cost  Goal – to use off the shelf components  Software solution – minimize part count/cost  Easy to use  Simple interface

Features  Multiple Sensors and Actuators  Allows edge detection and direction of motion  4 Operation Modes - 2 Power Modes, 2 Vibration Modes  Low Power, Normal Power, Absolute Distance, Differential Distance  User Controlled Gain adjustment  From 0 to 200%

Features  Audio Feedback  1 Beep = Absolute/Differential Mode Toggle  2 Beeps = Normal/Power Save Mode Toggle  3 Beeps = Normal/50% Vibration Mode Toggle

Operation Modes  Absolute Intensity Mode  Maximum vibration for about 15cm and no vibration for greater than 150cm.  Can detect the shape of the object  Reduced Intensity Mode  Maximum vibration intensity goes to half  Used When in low power mode  Can be set/reset by the user

Operation Modes Cont…  Differential Mode  Time average of distance measured by sensors  No vibration feedback if distance not changed  With placement of new object, intensity goes high and down back to zero  Reduced power mode  Default in case of low battery supply  Mode change to diff/low intensity mode

Marketability  Market Potential  Blind people need something accurate, cheap and easy to use  No such a device available in market  Production cost  Inexpensive off-the-shelf components  Prototype parts cost: $150  Suggested Retail Price  Initial market price < $300  Even cheaper when mass produced

Operation Concept  Sensors measure distance  PIC calculates the vibration intensity  Motors output the calculated intensity  User controls the operation mode Vibrating Motors Tactile Feedback to User Object Reflects infrared User Interface Distance Measuring Sensors Micro Controller System Overview SensorsActuatorsController

Sensors  Only one sensor on at a time to reduce power consumption and avoid crosstalk  Each sensor on for 50ms  Required for device stabilization  Longest time obligation in system  Results in sampling rate of 50ms  Max output 2.85Volts at 15Cm  Connected to three AD channels

Microcontroller  Samples sensor’s readings through AD  Manipulates data in “Control Signal Path”  Outputs the calculated duty cycle as a PWM signal to motor drivers.  Adjusts for any control buttons pushed by the user

Microcontroller Signal Path Diagram Downsample Signal Conversion (AD -> PWM Duty) FIR HP Filter 2xABS AD Gain Upsample Sensor PWM Duty PWM Override Deadband Generator A/D Mode SelectUser Gain Setting Sign Bit MUX DEMUX

Actuators  Each motor on, when its corresponding sensor detects an object  Max vibration intensity depends on mode of operation  Max vibration intensity can be set by user

Budget Comparison  Proposed Budget  $190  Actual Cost  $205 (8% More than predicted)  Funding (ESSEF)  $300  Profit  $95

Timeline Comparison Task Research Complete Preliminary Design Complete Initial Prototype Built Testing and Debugging Demo Proposed Actual Oct 10Oct 17 Oct 20Oct 31 Oct 30Nov 30 Nov 20Dec 8 Dec 1Dec 17

Future Developments  Package the device and design an actual glove  Improve the resolution for better mapping between distance and tactile feeling  Create user manual

Lessons Learned  Behind a successful product is a smart idea developed by extensive research  Divide the project into tasks that can be completed by each group member  Plan ahead to achieve good timing

Lessons Learned  To design efficiently, search for and think of “the best solution”.  The simpler solution is better. (Less time to implement, less chance for error, less expensive).  Always order extra parts  Use a modular design approach for assembly code.  Don’t be afraid of mistakes, try to learn from them

Conclusion  It is a smart idea  It is a well designed product  We got it working

Demonstrations  Operation modes demonstration  Normal and Low Power Modes  Absolute Distance Mode  Differential Mode  Gain Control

Demonstrations  Performance Demonstration  Intensity Versus Distance  Differential Mode (-ve and +ve distance change representation)  Edge Detection