{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T15:30:58Z","timestamp":1776094258954,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,6]],"date-time":"2024-05-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1714953600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Union","award":["955590"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["955590"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The problem of supporting visually impaired and blind people in meaningful interactions with objects is often neglected. To address this issue, we adapted a tactile belt for enhanced spatial navigation into a bracelet worn on the wrist that allows visually impaired people to grasp target objects. Participants\u2019 performance in locating and grasping target items when guided using the bracelet, which provides direction commands via vibrotactile signals, was compared to their performance when receiving auditory instructions. While participants were faster with the auditory commands, they also performed well with the bracelet, encouraging future development of this system and similar systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s24092949","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,6]],"date-time":"2024-05-06T14:26:11Z","timestamp":1715005571000},"page":"2949","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Helping Blind People Grasp: Evaluating a Tactile Bracelet for Remotely Guiding Grasping Movements"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8488-0970","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Piper","family":"Powell","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr\u00fcck, 49069 Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-1981-1367","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Florian","family":"P\u00e4tzold","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr\u00fcck, 49069 Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-7987-0240","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milad","family":"Rouygari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr\u00fcck, 49069 Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4034-9931","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marcin","family":"Furtak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr\u00fcck, 49069 Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany"},{"name":"FeelSpace GmbH, 49069 Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany"}]},{"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"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3654-5267","authenticated-orcid":false,"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"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2024, January 16). Blindness and Vision Impairment. Available online: https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/blindness-and-visual-impairment."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1016\/0028-3932(65)90027-8","article-title":"The automatic grasping responses of infants","volume":"3","author":"Twitchell","year":"1965","journal-title":"Neuropsychologia"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.1016\/S0166-4115(08)60023-0","article-title":"Mastering Reaching and Grasping: The Development of Manual Skills in Infancy","volume":"61","year":"1989","journal-title":"Adv. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"142","DOI":"10.1007\/s00221-002-1156-z","article-title":"The development of coordination for reach-to-grasp movements in children","volume":"146","author":"Schneiberg","year":"2002","journal-title":"Exp. Brain Res."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"249","DOI":"10.1016\/j.humov.2012.12.009","article-title":"Characteristics of grasping movements in a laboratory and in an everyday-like context","volume":"32","author":"Bock","year":"2013","journal-title":"Hum. Mov. Sci."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"286","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2021.01.007","article-title":"A review of the neurobiomechanical processes underlying secure gripping in object manipulation","volume":"123","author":"Redmond","year":"2021","journal-title":"Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"201","DOI":"10.1016\/S0167-9457(99)00008-1","article-title":"Visuomotor channels: Their integration in goal-directed prehension","volume":"18","author":"Jeannerod","year":"1999","journal-title":"Hum. Mov. Sci."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1578","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.00123.2019","article-title":"A review of grasping as the movements of digits in space","volume":"122","author":"Smeets","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Neurophysiol."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"233","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1475-1313.2010.00819.x","article-title":"How does the presence and duration of central visual impairment affect reaching and grasping movements?","volume":"31","author":"Pardhan","year":"2011","journal-title":"Ophthalmic Physiol. Opt."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.1080\/09286580601139212","article-title":"Impact of visual impairment on quality of life: A comparison with quality of life in the general population and with other chronic conditions","volume":"14","author":"Langelaan","year":"2007","journal-title":"Ophthalmic Epidemiol."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1080\/00222895.1984.10735319","article-title":"The timing of natural prehension movements","volume":"16","author":"Jeannerod","year":"1984","journal-title":"J. Mot. Behav."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1123\/mcj.3.3.237","article-title":"A New View on Grasping","volume":"3","author":"Smeets","year":"1999","journal-title":"Mot. Control"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2015.01403","article-title":"The contributions of vision and haptics to reaching and grasping","volume":"6","author":"Stone","year":"2015","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Caraiman, S., Zvoristeanu, O., Burlacu, A., and Herghelegiu, P. (2019). Stereo Vision Based Sensory Substitution for the Visually Impaired. Sensors, 19.","DOI":"10.3390\/s19122771"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1108\/JAT-08-2013-0025","article-title":"See ColOr: An extended sensory substitution device for the visually impaired","volume":"8","author":"Gomez","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Assist. Technol."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"269","DOI":"10.1155\/2010\/282341","article-title":"The Vibe: A versatile vision-to-audition sensory substitution device","volume":"7","author":"Hanneton","year":"2010","journal-title":"Appl. Bionics Biomech."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"492","DOI":"10.1016\/j.concog.2009.10.006","article-title":"Visual experiences in the blind induced by an auditory sensory substitution device","volume":"19","author":"Ward","year":"2010","journal-title":"Conscious. Cogn."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"963","DOI":"10.1038\/221963a0","article-title":"Vision Substitution by Tactile Image Projection","volume":"221","author":"Collins","year":"1969","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"640","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2012.08.026","article-title":"Reading with Sounds: Sensory Substitution Selectively Activates the Visual Word Form Area in the Blind","volume":"76","author":"Cohen","year":"2012","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"247","article-title":"EyeMusic: Introducing a \u2019visual\u2019 colorful experience for the blind using auditory sensory substitution","volume":"32","author":"Abboud","year":"2014","journal-title":"Restor. Neurol. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"162","DOI":"10.1038\/22106","article-title":"Improved auditory spatial tuning in blind humans","volume":"400","author":"Sterr","year":"1999","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"376","DOI":"10.1109\/TOH.2016.2554111","article-title":"Head-Mounted Sensory Augmentation Device: Designing a Tactile Language","volume":"9","author":"Kerdegari","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Haptics"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1109\/TNSRE.2016.2542064","article-title":"A portable sensory augmentation device for balance rehabilitation using fingertip skin stretch feedback","volume":"25","author":"Pan","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"42197","DOI":"10.1038\/srep42197","article-title":"Sensory augmentation: Integration of an auditory compass signal into human perception of space","volume":"7","author":"Schumann","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Macpherson, F. (2018). Sensory Substitution and Augmentation, Proceedings of the British Academy.","DOI":"10.5871\/bacad\/9780197266441.001.0001"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"939","DOI":"10.1017\/S0140525X01000115","article-title":"A sensorimotor account of vision and visual consciousness","volume":"24","year":"2001","journal-title":"Behav. Brain Sci."},{"key":"ref_27","first-page":"1","article-title":"Sensory augmentation for the blind","volume":"6","author":"Fenzlaff","year":"2012","journal-title":"Front. Hum. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1016\/j.concog.2014.06.006","article-title":"The experience of new sensorimotor contingencies by sensory augmentation","volume":"28","author":"Kaspar","year":"2014","journal-title":"Conscious. Cogn."},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Yu, Z., Horvath, S., Delazio, A., Wang, J., Almasi, R., Klatzky, R., Galeotti, J., and Stetten, G.D. (2016). PalmSight: An Assistive Technology Helping the Blind to Locate and Grasp Objects, Carnegie Mellon University. Technical Report."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"325","DOI":"10.1109\/TOH.2019.2945561","article-title":"FingerSight: A Vibrotactile Wearable Ring for Assistance with Locating and Reaching Objects in Peripersonal Space","volume":"13","author":"Satpute","year":"2020","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Haptics"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102963","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhcs.2022.102963","article-title":"Grasping objects with a sensory substitution glove","volume":"170","author":"Travieso","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Zacharias, R. (2023). Augmenting Functional Vision Using Tactile Guidance. [Bachelor\u2019s Thesis, Osnabr\u00fcck University]."},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"Kording, K.P., Blohm, G., Schrater, P., and Kay, K. (2020). Appreciating the variety of goals in computational neuroscience. arXiv."},{"key":"ref_34","unstructured":"Jocher, G., Chaurasia, A., Stoken, A., Borovec, J., NanoCode012, Kwon, Y., Michael, K., Xie, T., Fang, J., and Imyhxy (2022). ultralytics\/yolov5: v7.0\u2014YOLOv5 SOTA Realtime Instance Segmentation. Zenodo, Available online: https:\/\/zenodo.org\/records\/7347926."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lin, T.Y., Maire, M., Belongie, S., Hays, J., Perona, P., Ramanan, D., Doll\u00e1r, P., and Zitnick, C.L. (2014, January 6\u201312). Microsoft COCO: Common Objects in Context. Proceedings of the Computer Vision\u2013ECCV 2014: 13th European Conference, Zurich, Switzerland.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-10602-1_48"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bambach, S., Lee, S., Crandall, D.J., and Yu, C. (2015, January 7\u201313). Lending A Hand: Detecting Hands and Recognizing Activities in Complex Egocentric Interactions. Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV), Santiago, Chile.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICCV.2015.226"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"396","DOI":"10.1302\/0301-620X.66B3.6373778","article-title":"The wrist. Review article","volume":"66","author":"Fisk","year":"1984","journal-title":"J. Bone Jt. Surg. Br."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1020","DOI":"10.1038\/s41928-023-01115-7","article-title":"A skin-integrated multimodal haptic interface for immersive tactile feedback","volume":"6","author":"Huang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nat. Electron."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1113\/jphysiol.1979.sp012619","article-title":"Tactile sensibility in the human hand: Relative and absolute densities of four types of mechanoreceptive units in glabrous skin","volume":"286","author":"Johansson","year":"1979","journal-title":"J. Physiol."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"See, A.R., Choco, J.A.G., and Chandramohan, K. (2022). Touch, Texture and Haptic Feedback: A Review on How We Feel the World around Us. Appl. Sci., 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/app12094686"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1567","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.00256.2002","article-title":"Receptive Field Properties of Unmyelinated Tactile Afferents in the Human Skin","volume":"89","author":"Wessberg","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Neurophysiol."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"703","DOI":"10.1177\/0145482X1110501016","article-title":"Auditory Cues Used for Wayfinding in Urban Environments by Individuals with Visual Impairments","volume":"105","author":"Koutsoklenis","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Vis. Impair. Blind."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"58","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actpsy.2013.12.002","article-title":"Does visual experience influence the spatial distribution of auditory attention?","volume":"146","author":"Lerens","year":"2014","journal-title":"Acta Psychol."},{"key":"ref_44","first-page":"169","article-title":"The role of sound cues in the spatial knowledge of blind individuals","volume":"27","author":"Papadopoulos","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. J. Spec. Educ."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"332","DOI":"10.1177\/0145482X19869797","article-title":"The Effect of an Innovative Vision Simulator (OrCam) on Quality of Life in Patients with Glaucoma","volume":"113","author":"Waisbourd","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Vis. Impair. Blind."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"271","DOI":"10.1007\/s12193-020-00333-z","article-title":"Psychophysical comparison of the auditory and tactile perception: A survey","volume":"14","author":"Merchel","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Multimodal User Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"194","DOI":"10.1007\/s00221-004-2000-4","article-title":"Blind subjects process auditory spectral cues more efficiently than sighted individuals","volume":"160","author":"Doucet","year":"2005","journal-title":"Exp. Brain Res."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.1037\/a0028416","article-title":"Auditory, tactile, and audiotactile information processing following visual deprivation","volume":"139","author":"Occelli","year":"2013","journal-title":"Psychol. Bull."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cognition.2015.04.004","article-title":"Space and time in the sighted and blind","volume":"141","author":"Bottini","year":"2015","journal-title":"Cognition"},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1363","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03193735","article-title":"Performance of blind and sighted humans on a tactile grating detection task","volume":"68","author":"Goldreich","year":"2006","journal-title":"Percept. Psychophys."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1346","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2008.05.002","article-title":"Imagery and spatial processes in blindness and visual impairment","volume":"32","author":"Cattaneo","year":"2008","journal-title":"Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"278","DOI":"10.1177\/0145482X0710100503","article-title":"Comparing the Effects of Congenital and Late Visual Impairments on Visuospatial Mental Abilities","volume":"101","author":"Monegato","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Vis. Impair. Blind."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"324","DOI":"10.1038\/85201","article-title":"Visuo-haptic object-related activation in the ventral visual pathway","volume":"4","author":"Amedi","year":"2001","journal-title":"Nat. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"86","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_01186","article-title":"Functional Preference for Object Sounds and Voices in the Brain of Early Blind and Sighted Individuals","volume":"30","author":"Dormal","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Cogn. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/srep37431","article-title":"Perceptual training yields rapid improvements in visually impaired youth","volume":"6","author":"Nyquist","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1163\/22134808-00002478","article-title":"Multisensory Integration and Calibration in Children and Adults with and without Sensory and Motor Disabilities","volume":"28","author":"Gori","year":"2015","journal-title":"Multisensory Res."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/24\/9\/2949\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T14:40:20Z","timestamp":1760107220000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/24\/9\/2949"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,6]]},"references-count":56,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,5]]}},"alternative-id":["s24092949"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s24092949","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,6]]}}}