Wachs/Duerstock assistive technology

Photo of Ting Zhang and David Schwarte
Grad student Ting Zhang (l) assists David Schwarte (r), assistive technology specialist for Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP), as he tests an assistive-technology system. (Photo courtesy of Purdue Research Foundation/Curt Slyder)
People with visual impairments could identify scientific images on a computer screen through STEM-designed assistive technology.

According to Purdue News (March 7): "Ting Zhang, a graduate student in the Purdue School of Industrial Engineering, is developing a system that involves a specially designed joystick attached to a computer. The joystick controls a cursor. When the cursor moves across an object on the screen, force feedback, vibrations and sound cues give the user information about the object’s size, shape, texture and color to help them identify the information displayed on a computer screen."

Zhang is co-advised by IE Associate Professors Juan Wachs and Brad Duerstock, and is part of both Wach's ISAT lab and Duerstock's IAS lab.

A YouTube video is available at: https://youtu.be/teJXnc9lP1w

The research was recently featured in a New Scientist article "Blind people 'see' microscope images using touch-feedback device".

Related Link: http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2017/Q1/people-with-visual-impairments-could-identify-scientific-images-on-a-computer-screen-through-stem-designed-assistive-technology.html