Alain Boldini Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201 e-mail: ab7825@nyu.edu Andy Louis Garcia 1 Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201 e-mail: alg653@nyu.edu Marc Sorrentino 1 Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201 e-mail: mas1862@nyu.edu Mahya Beheshti Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY 10016 e-mail: Mahya.Beheshti@nyulangone.org Okpe Ogedegbe Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY 10016 e-mail: okpe.ogedegbe@nyulangone.org Yi Fang Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New York University Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box 129188, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE e-mail: yfang@nyu.edu Maurizio Porfiri 2 Center for Urban Science and Progress; Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201 e-mail: mporfiri@nyu.edu An Inconspicuous, Integrated Electronic Travel Aid for Visual Impairment With a globally aging population, visual impairment is an increasingly pressing problem for our society. Visual disability drastically reduces quality of life and constitutes a large cost to the health care system. Mobility of the visually impaired is one of the most critical aspects affected by this disability, and yet, it relies on low-tech solutions, such as the white cane. Many avoid solutions entirely. In part, reluctance to use these solutions may be explained by their obtrusiveness, a strong deterrent for the adoption of many new devices. Here, we leverage new advancements in artificial intelligence, sensor systems, and soft electroactive materials toward an electronic travel aid with an obstacle detection and avoidance system for the visually impaired. The travel aid incorporates a stereoscopic camera platform, enabling computer vision, and a wearable haptic device that can stimulate discrete loca- tions on the user’s abdomen to signal the presence of surrounding obstacles. The proposed technology could be integrated into commercial backpacks and support belts, thereby guar- anteeing a discreet and unobtrusive solution. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4050186] Keywords: actuator, collision avoidance, haptics, human–machine interfaces, rehabilitation 1 A. L. Garcia and M. Sorrentino contributed equally to the paper. 2 Corresponding authors. Manuscript received August 20, 2020; final manuscript received January 9, 2021; published online March 11, 2021. Assoc. Editor: Loucas Louca. ASME Letters in Dynamic Systems and Control OCTOBER 2021, Vol. 1 / 041004-1 Copyright © 2021 by ASME Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/lettersdynsys/article-pdf/1/4/041004/6659699/aldsc_1_4_041004.pdf by guest on 12 March 2022