Method and apparatus for tactile haptic device to guide user in real-time obstacle avoidance
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsGary W. Behm, Richard E. Von Mering
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for providing information about a physical surrounding environment to a user includes an elongate body having first and second opposing ends and a mast, at least one sensor mountably coupled to the mast, at least one dual purpose, bi-directional haptic force feedback device including first and second haptic force feedback mechanisms and a vibrator, and a processor, which receives signals from the at least one sensor and operatively controls the at least one dual purpose, bi-directional haptic force feedback device.
Claims18
An apparatus for providing information about a physical surrounding environment to a user, the apparatus comprising:
- an elongate body having first and second opposing ends and a mast extending transversely from a body centerline at a location thereof proximate to the first end, the second end being handled by the user to repeatedly and continuously sweep the first end in first and second opposite motions;
- at least one sensor mountably coupled to the mast of the body;
- at least one dual purpose, bi-directional haptic force feedback device coupled to the body proximate to the second end and including first and second haptic force feedback mechanisms and a vibrator;
- and
- a processor, which is coupled to the body intermediate the mast and the at least one dual purpose, bi-directional haptic force feedback device, and which receives signals from the at least one sensor and operatively controls the at least one dual purpose, bi-directional haptic force feedback device to:
- convey a first type of information about the physical surrounding environment sensed by the at least one sensor during the sweeping of the first end in the first and second motions by operating the vibrator and the first or the second haptic force feedback mechanisms, respectively, and
- convey a second type of information about the physical surrounding environment sensed by the at least one sensor during the sweeping of the first end in the first or second motions by operating the vibrator, the first and the second haptic force feedback mechanisms.
A method of providing information about a physical surrounding environment to a user provided with an elongate body having first and second opposing ends and a mast extending from a body centerline at a location proximate to the first end, the second end being handled by the user to repeatedly and continuously sweep the first end in first and second opposite motions, the method comprising:
- transmitting at least one sensing signal emitted by a sensor mountably coupled to the mast to the physical surrounding environment;
- receiving a modified sensing signal at the sensor during the sweeping from the physical surrounding environment;
- and
- controlling first and second haptic force feedback mechanisms coupled to the body proximate to the second end and a vibrator, the controlling being based on the modified sensing signal to:
- convey a first type of information about the physical surrounding environment sensed during the sweeping of the first end in the first and second motions by operating the vibrator and the first or the second haptic force feedback mechanisms, respectively, and
- convey a second type of information about the physical surrounding environment sensed during the sweeping of the first end in the first or second motions by operating the vibrator, the first and the second haptic force feedback mechanisms.
An apparatus for providing information about a physical surrounding environment to a user, the apparatus comprising:
- an elongate body having a handle, a distal end a mast extending transversely from the distal end, the handle handled by the user to repeatedly and continuously sweep the distal end in opposite motions;
- at least one sensor mountably coupled to the mast and operatively coupled to the handle;
- first and second haptic force feedback mechanisms proximally coupled to the handle;
- a vibrator proximally coupled to the handle;
- and
- a processor, which is coupled to the body intermediate the mast and the plurality of mechanisms, and which receives signals from the at least one sensor and controls force feedback of the plurality of mechanisms and vibration of the vibrator to:
- convey a first type of information about the physical surrounding environment sensed by the at least one sensor during the sweeping in each of the opposite motions by operating the vibrator and the first or the second haptic force feedback mechanisms, respectively, and
- convey a second type of information about the physical surrounding environment sensed by the at least one sensor during the sweeping in both of the opposite motions by operating the vibrator, the first and the second haptic force feedback mechanisms.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.