Perceptual and Kinetic Characteristics by Egocentric Child Experience

Abstract

We have been developing a set of wearable devices for providing an ego-centric child experience to the wearer, named CHILDHOOD. The system is composed of two wearable devices: 1) a visual translator for mapping the wearer's eyesight level onto his/her waist position by using a head-mounted display and a wearable camera module , and 2) a pair of passive hand exoskeletons for miniaturizing hand gestures by using motion conversion mechanisms. In this paper, we revised the configuration of the visual translator to improve the usability, and implemented a new passive mechanism of the hand exoskeleton for achieving natural grabbing motion. We conducted a field study at a nursing school for evaluating how the visual system modulates the perception of inter-personal distance, and also performed a lab study to observe the changes in a user's hand function while using the exoskeleton with a peg test environment.