Canetroller (a VR system for blind people)

2018: Work demonstration

In February, 2018 the Microsoft company provided the system of virtual reality (VR) which will allow people to be guided with weak sight in space. The project received the name Canetroller.

A system consists of a cane which the person holds in hand and also  the metal rod fixed on a belt to  which  this cane fastens. The last is equipped with the vibromotor and the sensor tracing stick provision concerning a VR helmet which is put on the user. Also the brake mechanism stopping the horizontal movement that creates feeling of this collision with an object is built in a cane.

Microsoft provided a VR system for blind people

The cane scans space and sends to a belt of the person digital vibrations at stay near the located object, creating effect of physical presence. Engineers of Microsoft provided a tactile response for surfaces. For example, a tile on the sidewalk or asphalt will differ.

In a set of Canetroller there are earphones in which the noise corresponding to a sound of a specific object for more effective orientation in different places are reproduced and under different circumstances. So, it will be possible to distinguish sounds of blow of a rod about a floor and a tile

Microsoft noted that tests of development on visually impaired and blind people took place successfully and appeared above expectations of developers. The company does not call product yield terms on the commercial market yet, but note that, most likely, the ready option will differ from experimental modification. In particular, it is going to facilitate construction which at the time of testing weighed about 2 kg.

Microsoft published the video on which examples of work of the VR system developed by a command led by Mike Sinclair are imprinted.^[1]

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