  Navigation and obstacle avoidance are some of the hardest tasks for the
visually impaired. Recent research projects have proposed technological
solutions to tackle this problem. So far most systems fail to provide
multidimensional feedback while working under various lighting conditions. We
present a novel obstacle avoidance system by combining a 3D camera with a
haptic feedback sleeve. Our system uses the distance information of the camera
and maps it onto a 2D vibration array on the forearm. In our functionality
tests of the haptic feedback sleeve, users were able to correctly identify and
localize 98,6% of single motor vibration patterns and 70% of multidirectional
and multi-motor vibration patterns. The combined obstacle avoidance system was
evaluated on a testing route in the dark, simulating a navigation task. All
users were able to complete the task and showed performance improvement over
multiple runs. The system is independent of lighting conditions and can be used
indoors and outdoors. Therefore, the obstacle avoidance system demonstrates a
promising approach towards using technology to enable more independence for the
visually impaired.
