Giving the Visually Impaired an Opportunity to Actively Take Part in Non-Verbal Communication.

Non-verbal forms of communication can be an important part of meetings and discussions. Those who are visually impaired, however, have difficulty responding to physically responses.

A transnational research project will lay the foundation to create assistance systems for the visually impaired that can translate non-verbal communication in real time. An initial prototype is now available. Photo credit: JKU
A transnational research project will lay the foundation to create assistance systems for the visually impaired that can translate non-verbal communication in real time. An initial prototype is now available. Photo credit: JKU

When it comes to daily interactions and picking up on non-verbal communication, the blind or visually impaired may miss out on important information compared to those who are not visually impaired. Information can be conveyed through a person’s body language, facial expressions, a smile when greeting someone, and even by an approving nod or a confused look if something is vague.

Advanced assistance systems for the visually impaired will soon be able to provide this kind of information, enabling the visually impaired to actively take part in meetings and discussions. However, developing technical aids that can interpret human action and communicate in real time can be complex and costly. Researchers from the JKU are working on a project with teams at ETH Zurich and TU Darmstadt that will pave the way to lay the scientific foundations that will eventually lead to creating future applications in this area.

Klaus Miesenberger, head of the Institute for Integrated Studies at the JKU Linz, manages the project and remarked, "The challenge lies in tracking facial expressions, gestures and other non-verbal forms of communication during meetings and then collecting the information to ultimately create a ‘smart’ system that can make the information accessible to the visually impaired in different ways."