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Towards Improving Spatial Orientation using Electrical Muscle Stimulation as Tactile and Force Feedback

Published: 03 December 2023 Publication History

Abstract

Navigating the environment can be challenging, especially when faced with vision or hearing limitations, such as darkness and visual impairments. To address this issue, we propose using electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) to convey spatial information and assist users in avoiding obstacles. We map direction to EMS channels and distance to current intensity, with force-feedback for closer proximity and tactile EMS feedback for greater proximity. An experimental study (n=12) was conducted to evaluate the concept and gain insights into the qualitative perception of EMS. Participants were able to accurately estimate encoded distance (85.7% accuracy) and direction (99.5% accuracy). Our findings demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of using tactile and force feedback EMS to convey spatial information comprehensibly.

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  • (2024)ShoulderTapper: Providing Directional Cues through Electrotactile Feedback for Target Acquisition in Pick-by-Light SystemsProceedings of the International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia10.1145/3701571.3701597(228-234)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2024

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  1. Towards Improving Spatial Orientation using Electrical Muscle Stimulation as Tactile and Force Feedback

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    cover image ACM Other conferences
    MUM '23: Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia
    December 2023
    607 pages
    ISBN:9798400709210
    DOI:10.1145/3626705
    Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

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    New York, NY, United States

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    Published: 03 December 2023

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    Author Tags

    1. Electrical Muscle Stimulation
    2. Force Feedback
    3. Spatial Orientation
    4. Tactile Feedback

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    • (2024)ShoulderTapper: Providing Directional Cues through Electrotactile Feedback for Target Acquisition in Pick-by-Light SystemsProceedings of the International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia10.1145/3701571.3701597(228-234)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2024

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