Abstract
We have developed a support system that enables individuals with visual impairments to recognize three-dimensional objects or environments interactively. This is a total system and has input, processing, and output functions. A stereo camera system used as an input device allows 3D visual information to be acquired. This visual information is converted into tactile and auditory information that can be easily understood by the visually impaired. One of the output devices we have developed is an interactive 3D tactile display which presents visual patterns using tactile pins. The pin height can be set to several levels to increase the tactile information and represent the 3D surface shape. The major difference in our tactile display is the digitizer function. It is possible for the user to communicate with this system. It will help them to recognize 3D objects and environments by themselves. Hardware experiments on the tactile display and system interface were conducted with the assistance of visually impaired individuals. We report on the results and evaluation of our experiments.