Enabling touch-based communication in wearable devices for people with sensory and multisensory impairments

Abstract

Tactile signing and touch-based alphabets are among the primary communication systems for people who suffer from sensory or multisensory conditions, such as, blindness or deaf-blindness, respectively. In the last decade, several research projects based on sensory substitution focused on developing novel interfaces. However, people who are sensory-impaired still lack reliable technology for interacting with the world. To this end, wearable devices could have a significant role in providing individuals with support for daily activities, communication, and social inclusion. In this paper, we introduce a categorization based on technology for sensing and representing the main components of touch-and gesture-based communication systems (i.e., movement, gesture, pressure, and touch) to provide an understanding of the technical and human factors which affect or foster the development of new assistive technology.