{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,22]],"date-time":"2026-06-22T21:03:08Z","timestamp":1782162188491,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,6]],"date-time":"2021-11-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1636156800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Spatial orientation and navigation depend primarily on vision. Blind people lack this critical source of information. To facilitate wayfinding and to increase the feeling of safety for these people, the \u201cfeelSpace belt\u201d was developed. The belt signals magnetic north as a fixed reference frame via vibrotactile stimulation. This study investigates the effect of the belt on typical orientation and navigation tasks and evaluates the emotional impact. Eleven blind subjects wore the belt daily for seven weeks. Before, during and after the study period, they filled in questionnaires to document their experiences. A small sub-group of the subjects took part in behavioural experiments before and after four weeks of training, i.e., a straight-line walking task to evaluate the belt\u2019s effect on keeping a straight heading, an angular rotation task to examine effects on egocentric orientation, and a triangle completion navigation task to test the ability to take shortcuts. The belt reduced subjective discomfort and increased confidence during navigation. Additionally, the participants felt safer wearing the belt in various outdoor situations. Furthermore, the behavioural tasks point towards an intuitive comprehension of the belt. Altogether, the blind participants benefited from the vibrotactile belt as an assistive technology in challenging everyday situations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s21217384","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,7]],"date-time":"2021-11-07T20:42:54Z","timestamp":1636317774000},"page":"7384","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Impact of a Vibrotactile Belt on Emotionally Challenging Everyday Situations of the Blind"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Charlotte","family":"Brandebusemeyer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr\u00fcck, 49069 Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna Ricarda","family":"Luther","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr\u00fcck, 49069 Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5981-2025","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sabine U.","family":"K\u00f6nig","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr\u00fcck, 49069 Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"K\u00f6nig","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr\u00fcck, 49069 Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany"},{"name":"Department of Neurophysiology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Silke M.","family":"K\u00e4rcher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr\u00fcck, 49069 Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany"},{"name":"FeelSpace GmbH, 49069 Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.1177\/0013916590221005","article-title":"The Spatio-Cognitive Abilities of the Visually Impaired Population","volume":"22","author":"Passini","year":"1990","journal-title":"Environ. 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