Interfacing an AER Vision Sensor with a Tactile Display: a Proposal for a New Haptic Feedback Device

In this paper we propose a new haptic feedback device, based on a graphical tactile display and an AER (Address-Event Representation) dynamic vision sensor. The goal is to enable visually impaired people to capture information from the surrounding environment. Following the sensory substitution concept, this device aims to transform dynamic visual features into tactile stimulations.Bitmaps commonly used in computer vision are here replaced by streams of spikes, whose timing, address and type allow to accurately track meaningful changes in the visual scene. A set of proper filters and models have been designed and developed in order to transform those visual spikes into haptic ones. Validation tests have been performed both to tune the involved parameters and to better match a natural and comfortable user experience. Preliminary tests with blindfolded people confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed solution.