Cane
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CANE (Computer Assisted Navigation Endeavor) enables the blind to safely and efficiently navigate the world. It is a hands-free solution that can help blind and visually-impaired users cross the street and safely and efficiently avoid obstacles along the sidewalk. It complements the white cane or guide dog and enhances the existing skills of the blind.
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My responsibility
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Take a lead on clip-on form factor option's industrial design concept development
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Manage interview, and usability test with visually impaired users
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Work closely with ME to develop a proof of concept and showcase in demo
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Develop POC housing that fits the human factor
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Collaboration with UX designer
Samsung Strategy Innovation Center, ID8 Innovation Lab
6 months / 2019
Partners
Vista Center
Statistic
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Most people who are visually impaired don’t use a white cane. In fact, only an estimated 2 percent to 8 percent do.
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Globally, it is estimated that approximately 1.3 billion people live with some form of vision impairment.​
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The assistive technologies for the visually impaired market is set to reach US$ 6,979.5 Mn by 2026.
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The Problem
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Globally, it is estimated that approximately 1.3 billion people live with some form of vision impairment. However, most crosswalks are not integrated with systems for the visually impaired. Therefore they are strongly dependent on other people telling them they can cross or using their senses to determine if they can cross.
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Our Goal
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Allow every blind or visually impaired user to safely and efficiently cross the street.
Design a wearable device with a mobile application that connects to the API to access the perception information.
01. Finding User Pain Points
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By partnership with Vista Center and OPO, our team could gain knowledge of the blind and visually impaired users’ pain points and needs. As a result, we found the opportunity to design a simple wearable product that could enhance the white cane that seamlessly gives direction and detects blind spots and obstacles.
02. Form Factor Brainstorming
The initial form factor with eyeglasses was found with several technical difficulties. So the team came up with the new form factor, clip-on, by attaching the camera and speaker to the user's torso. Additionally we added a wrist band with haptic feedback for an intuitive notification.
FF1: Eyeglasses
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Camera
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Bone conduction
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Wireless connection to smart phone app
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Problem: Heavyweight. Users often shake their heads while walking, making it hard for the camera to detect the front view.
FF2: Clip-on
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Clip-on: camera/ speaker/ wireless connection to smartphone app
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Wrist band: haptic feedback
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Solution: Keep the camera stable with
a clip-on on the user’s upper torso.
03. Form Development
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Based on a minimum list of inner components,
I developed an appearance model through various iteration of the design process. The main design goal was to be easy to wear and use a product with intuitive interaction through surface and texture.
One-click-press button to easily adjust lanyard length with one hand.
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Compact pill-shaped form for portability and seamless usability in public spaces.
A bump dot with matt
texture indicates the
power button.
Slip the magnetic
pendant on the
neck, and snap-on
camera on outside
the clothing layer
A easy-to-clip-on feature holds
the device in place on the user's
cloth, pocket, bag, etc.
The detachable lanyard allows user to customize and add an extra weight support on the neck
Recessed surface
Indicates to push
and clip-on.
04. Proof of Concept Prototypes
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We learned that the clip-on device must have a lanyard attached to keep its stability, safety, and security through prototype tests. In addition, the lanyard needed to be placed on the edge of the housing so that the device could balance straight on the user’s torso. Lastly, we found that a big device could make the user’s neck and wrist tired from a long walk. So it was critical to reduce the overall size.
01. Brainstorm details with ME
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02. Building prototypes
Based on ID’s design concept, I worked closely with mechanical engineers to create a working prototype and test the idea.
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03. Testing prototypes
With the several prototype options, we tested the product by simulating the street view on the display and wearing it outside on the street.
CANE Perception System
Cane improves the confidence of the blind user when crossing the street by alerting the user of the pedestrian signal status. It detects obstacles that may be missed by the white cane and notify users through a combination of audio and haptic feedback.
05. Usability Test
The design team coordinated a user test with John, a blind individual. I had a chance to test the audio location and the lanyard adjusting method with the clip-on prototypes.
Based on the feedback, I refined the design to keep the speaker added to the main device as an all-in-one device. Also, I made the lanyard attachable from both front and back with a simple push-button.
1. Audio location test
John preferred the sound quality from the bone conduction speaker. However, he worried that keeping multiple devices in a public space would be stressful.
2. Lanyard adjusting method test
John liked the button mechanism to control with one hand. However, he also wanted to have an option to attach and detach the lanyard from the front.
To develop the feed-back system, we initially tested out the wrist band's haptic feedback within the team, such as the vibration's strength and frequency depending on the obstacle distance.
01. Walking without haptic feedback for comparison
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02. Strong vibration with a close obstacle:
Intuitive feedback helped to be prepared for the emergency.
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03. Light vibration to warn the obstacle in a long distance:
It gave the user peace of mind to be prepared, but frequent vibration was confusing.
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06. Vision Concept Design Update
Based on the prototypes and usability test findings,
I refined the design details. Most of the changes were based on how the blind user can comfortably wear the product and intuitively indicate its functions. Also, keeping the device safe and secured on the user’s clothing was the biggest challenge to be solved.
Hands-free Interaction: Light-weight Wearables
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The clip-on device would contain a camera, microphone, and wireless connection to the smartphone. The wristband would provide haptic feedback. Also, wireless charging deck can easily charge both devices.
Clip-on
Wearable device to clip on the cloth, bag, etc. It can be attached to a lanyard to wear on the neck for extra security. It gives information through upward- positioned-audio output while still being able to hear the surroundings.
Wristband
It is a slap to wear wrist device that gives vibration feedback when the obstacles have been detected. Each vibrator covers a certain range of detection. Its solution is an augmented solution to reinforce the white cane.
