UNR researcher to develop a robotic glove for the blind

Grabbing a door handle may be become easier for a person who is blind thanks to a University of Nevada, Reno professor.

Yantao Shen, an assistant professor from UNR’s College of Engineering received an $820,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The robotics grant will help Shen and undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students develop a robotic glove that will help people who are blind or visually impaired navigate obstacles and locate, sense and grasp an object.

“For a person that can’t see, using high resolution cameras and sensors (a person) can grasp an object without having to feel around for it,” Shen said.

Shen said that the technology would guide, like a magnetic pull, and also be able to audibly give the wearer direction. The technology will use a combination of vision, tactile, force, temperature and audio sensors to help a wearer sense an object and give information including location, feeling, shape and size.

“We will pre-map the hand, and build a lightweight form-fitting device that attaches to the hand using key locations for cameras and mechanical and electrical sensors. It will be simpler than a glove, and less obtrusive,” Shen said.

Shen said the sensors will help describe the object to a hand.

He said the technology will help give many people with vision loss become more independence.

The grant was awarded to Shen and University of Arkansas, Little Rock researcher Cang Ye.

Students from both campuses will test the device’s usability. The project will also be part of a senior design course taught at UNR by Shen.

Shen said the technology has potential to be used in space exploration, military surveillance and in search and rescue missions.

Shen conducts research in the areas of bioinstrumentation and automation, biomechatronics/robotics, sensors and actuators, and tactile/haptic interfaces. Shen has published more than 100 research papers in these fields. His research has been supported by federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation and NASA.

“This is a major nationally competitive project that will result in cutting-edge research,” said UNR's Dean of the College of Engineering Manos Maragakis.

The three-year National Robotics Initiative grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Eye Institute division is the first grant of its kind for UNR.