DualPanto: a Video Gaming Interface for the Visually Impaired

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While there are tools that allow the visually impaired to interact with computers, conveying spacial relationships, such as those needed for gaming, is certainly a challenge. To address this, researchers have come up with DualPanto.

This device uses a pair of pantographs — linkage systems controlled by a pair of motors — to represent a virtual world. One “it” pantograph represents an object in this world, such as a soccer ball, while a second “me” pantograph represents the person’s avatar.

Each pantograph motor has a corresponding encoder to sense position, and at the end each linkage system, another motor and encoder are implemented for the the player to sense and change direction. Importantly, the two pantograhs are stacked on top of each other in such a way that the relationship between the handles in a 2D plane represents the spatial alignment of the game world.

The game’s software runs on a MacBook Pro, and an Arduino Due is used to interface the physical hardware with this setup. 

Full research paper is available here. Watch the video below for further information.

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