This document discusses the development of a haptic wearable device to support communication for deaf people. The researchers developed a prototype consisting of a pair of belts that could vibrate when one user presses a button to get the other user's attention. They conducted exploratory studies with deaf volunteers who found the concept easy to use and helpful for communication when visual contact is not possible. Based on the positive feedback, the researchers plan to further develop the prototype to support group communication and integration with environmental alerts. The goal is to improve deaf people's ability to communicate through haptic sensations without relying on sound, vision or physical contact.

1. Maria Paula Saba, Denise Filippo,
Fernando Reiszel Pereira, Pedro P. de Souza
Superior School of Industrial Design - ESDI/UERJ
CRIWG - Paraty, 2011
A Haptic Warning Wearable
To Support Deaf People Communication

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Research Problem
> How to call someone and start a conversation
when there is no visual contact, no physical
contact and no possibility of sound?

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Research Problem
> This might sound very impossible or rare.
But it is quite common, specially when:
- people have hearing and speaking disabilities,
- people are riding bikes,
- people are in a noisy crowd,

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Research Problem
> How hearing impaired are warned about:
doorbells, telephones, fire alarms?

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By visual signs. But if they are not looking at it?
Research Problem

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Background
Graham Bell would give balloons to deaf children
so they could be aware of horse carriages
while playing in the streets.
They just felt its VIBRATION.

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Research question
deaf people ill people elderly
How to support people who wish to communicate
when they don`t have physical and visual contact and
cannot count on sound and speech?

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Context
- Ubiquitous computing
- Wearables

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Proposition
- Communication channel for haptic warnings
through a wearable device.
- System allow users to draw other user’s attention through
haptic sensation without using voice/ vision/ physical contact.

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Concept
- One calling someone else

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Concept
- Environmental alerts
(doorbells, fire alarms, alarm clocks)

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Concept
- Group notification
(when someone gets too far away)

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Scripts
- How can this device change daily routine?

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Design guidelines
- ubiquitous
- peripheral position at user’s attention
- to be used in daily routine: accessory
- easy to carry
- easy handling (urgent tasks)
- strong vibration in a sensitive area
- automatic feedback
- aesthetics: computer or clothing?

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First prototype
- exploratory case study
- “I want to talk to you”
- one press the button, the other feels vibrating
while one receives feedback
- public: deaf people

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First prototype
- how does it look like?
- pair of belts

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- arduino: open source platform for hardware prototyping
- lilypad: wearable components for arduino, sensors and actuators
- xbee: wireless transmitter/receiver
First prototype

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- exploratory case study
> 1st: questionnarie and interview
- 5 talking volunteers
- print manual
> 2nd: focus group
- 10 deaf volunteers
- translator needed
Evaluation

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1st evaluation
> 5 people:
- 3 young / 2 adults
- 3 women / 2 men
- 4 hearing / 1 disabled
> tasks:
- wear the belt, make it work, walk around in other rooms
or out of the building and return when he/she felt it vibrating
- questionnaire and interview

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Results
INTERFACE
> All leanerd quickly and considered easy to dress and to feel vibrating,
comfortable, aesthetically neutral, but difficult to turn on (lilypad switch)
> 3 of 5 interested in different levels of vibration, concerned about electrick
shocks and not bothered by eletronic components appearance
COMMUNICATION
> easy to call and to feel the call, feedback vibration really useful
- walkie talkie concept: own code for communicating
- hearing impaired girl wanted to buy regardless of price

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2nd evaluation
> 10 people:
- from the same pastoral group
- 10 deaf adults - 6 women / 4 men
> tasks:
- 3 minutes explanation
- try the system freely, with group interaction
- group interview with translator

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Results
- all enjoyed the idea
- all women tried, all men didn’t
- good and beautiful (but hot under clothing)
- curiosity about maximum distance
- vibration might bot be strong enough
- places to use: home, work and parties
- question about how much it costs
- suggested scenarios

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Conclusion
- proposition well accepted, indicating wearable computing and haptic
communication can improve deaf people’s lives
- design guidelines fit well
- need of better hardware design
“perfect” in LIBRAS

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Further development
- long lasting evaluation
- multiple users, group, broadcast
- try communication codes
- connect to environment devices
such as doorbell

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Video

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Thank you!
- special thanks to Deaf Pastoral of Rio de Janeiro
and all other volunteers
Maria Paula - design@mariapaulasaba.com
Denise - dfilippo@esdi.uerj.br