Mobility of Visually Impaired People Fundamentals and ICT Assistive Technologies

This book discusses the design of the new mobility assistive information and communication technologies (ICT) devices for the visually impaired. The book begins with a definition of the space concept, followed by the concept of interaction with a space during mobility and this interaction characteristics. The contributors will then examine the neuro-cognitive basis of space perception for mobility and different theories of space perception. The text presents the existing technologies for space perception (sense recovery with stem and iPS cells, implants, brain plasticity, sensory substitution devices, multi modal technologies, etc.), the newest technologies for mobility assistance design, the way the feedback on environment is conveyed to the end-user. Methods for formative and summative evaluations of the mobility devices will also be discussed. The book concludes with a look to the future trends in research and technology development for mobility assistive information and communication technologies.

 Introduction.-  Part 1. Space for mobility and its conscious perception.- Living in Space. A phenomenological account.- Technologies to access space without vision. Some empirical facts and guiding theoretical principles.- Mobility technologies for visually impaired people through the prism of classic theories of perception.- Part 2. Neuro-cognitive basis of space perception for mobility.- The multisensory brain.- On spatial knowledge and  mobility strategies.- Sensory substitution and the Neural Correlates of navigation in the Blindness.- Visuo-Vestibular and Somesthetic Contributions to Spatial Navigation in Children and Adults.- Mobility of the visually impaired.-  Orientation and Mobility training to people with Visual Impairments.- Spatial orientation in children:  tyflological approach.- Scene representation for mobility of visually impaired.- Model of cognitive mobility for visually impaired people and its experimental validation.- Solid: A Model to Analyse the Accessibility of Transport Systems for the Visually Impaired.- Part 4. ICT technologies and mobility.- Mobility technologies: design issues.- Co-design toghether with persons with visual impairment.- Technologies for mobility assistance.- Different approaches to aiding blind persons in mobility and navigation in the "Naviton" and "Sound of Vision" projects.- Overview of smart white canes: connected smart cane from front-end to back-end.- Accessible Interactive Maps.- Smart multisensory strategies for indoor localization.- Constructing Tactile Languages for Situational Awareness Assistance of Visually Impaired People.- Vision restoration with implants.- Mobility, Inclusion, Exclusion.- Conclusion.

Edwige Pissaloux is a Full Professor at the University of Rouen, Physics Department, and closely collaborates with the ISIR (Institute for Intelligent Systems and Robotics) at Paris-Sorbonne University and the MIT (France-MIT program). She has authored more than 250 journals and conferences papers. Prof. Pissaloux main research interests are the modeling and design of vision systems, cognitive perception systems, and cognitive mobility systems.

Her research has been supported by European funds (EU FP7 Research and Innovation Funding Program), national funds (CNRS, CEA), and international projects (France-UK-Mexico). Prof. Pissaloux is a member of several international advisory boards of universities and research institutes, and teaches in several universities (Australia, Hong-Kong, Canada). She frequently acts as an international expert for several research bodies and international institutions such as the European Commission, NSF/USA, Canada, UK, Australia, China, Switzerland, etc.

Prof. Pissaloux initiated a series of national conferences such as “Space and its perception: application to design of assistive technologies” or “Eye, gaze and interaction”. She has participated and/or co-animated European Excellence networks.

In her free time, Prof. Pissaloux teaches violin for visually impaired children.

Ramiro Velázquez is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of E

ngineering of Universidad Panamericana (Aguascalientes, Mexico). He is past Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and currently serves as Vice-President for Research and member of the Board of Governors of this university.

He obtained the PhD in Robotics from UPMC-Paris6 Sorbonne University in 2006. He has authored more than 100 journals and conferences papers. Prof. Velázquez main research interests are assistive technologies, haptic and tactile devices, mechatronic systems, and human-computer interaction. His research projects in assistive devices for visually impaired and blind people have been featured in IEEE Spectrum, CNN, and BBC Horizons.

Prof. Velázquez frequently serves as

an expert evaluator for the European Commission, CONACYT (Mexico), and COLCIENCIAS (Colombia). He is a member of the Mexican National Systems of Researchers (SNI-Level I).