A Wearable Assistive Device for the Blind Using Tongue-Placed Electrotactile Display: Design and Verification

Various assistive devices have been developed intensively in order to help and guide blind people. Thanks to the experimental paradigm of sensory substitution, the blind people are able to "sense" the environment by one of these devices which are called Tongue-Placed Electrotactile Display (TED). It plays a key role as a man-machine interface that brings the environment information to the brain in place of the deceased sense organ. In this paper, a proposed design of the TED which is located within the human mouth is introduced. Then the performance of the TED is validated via tests with ordinary people at the safety intensity of electrical voltage and current. The results show that such device can totally function inside the mouth and can be a potential wearable aid device. This research shows a promise of a new prosthetic which may result in the improvement in the living quality for the disabled community.