A finger-worn device that uses discrete colors on a color-tagged tactile diagram for interactive audio labeling of the graphical elements. We designed a unique offset point-and-click technique that enables the bimanual exploration of the diagrams without hindering the tactile perception of the fingertips. FingerTalkie supports one-finger interaction and can work in any lighting conditions without calibration.FingerTalkie’s ease of use, support for two-hand exploration, and it's potential in improving the efficiency of comprehending tactile diagrams by replacing Braille labels.

This paper investigates the design and the evaluation of thermal haptic feedback on an earable form factor with multiple thermoelectric (i.e. Peltier) modules. We propose ThermEarhook, a wearable device that can provide hot and cold stimuli at multiple points on the auricular skin area. To investigate users’ thermal perception on the auricular area, we develop a series of ThermEarhook prototypes with 3, 4, and 5 Peltier modules. While most existing research utilized the constant level of haptic signal for different users, our pilot study with ThermEarhook shows that the auricular thermohaptic threshold varies across the feedback locations and the users.

This paper presents the design and the evaluation of ThermalCane, a white-cane grip instrumented with multiple flexible thermal modules, to offer thermotactile directional cues for BVI users. We also conducted two thermotactile experiments on users’ perceptions of ThermalCane. Our first experiment with twelve BVI users reports on the selection of the thermal-module configuration, considering the BVI users’ perceptive accuracy and preference. We then evaluated the effectiveness of the four-module ThermalCane in walking with 6 BVI users, in comparison with vibrotactile cues.