The research results of our project take a variety of different shapes.
They include technical tools, a detailed report based on our qualitative study of deafblind experiences as well as policy recommendations, public events and exhibitions that present audiovisual creative interpretations of deafblind experiences of the coronavirus pandemic.
Awards
Azadeh Emadi was awarded the Dr Katharine Giles Award for best popular article written by a scientist or engineer by Association of British Science Writers for her excellent article in The Conversation UK, The magic of touch: how deafblind people taught us to ‘see’ the world differently during COVID.
An accomplished piece on a deeply multi-disciplinary topic. Deploying multiple techniques, deftly woven together, Emadi draws the reader in and humanises her own research on how the deafblind community experienced the pandemic.
Judges for the ABSW 2023 Awards
Newly Developed Haptic Devices
The most tangible results of our project are the contactless haptic-audiovisual tools that were developed by Professor Daniele Faccio and Dr Piergiorgio Caramazza. These tools are designed to provide deafblind people with a safe and effective way to experience their spatial surroundings.
Our ‘haptic hat’ was the first prototype developed by our engineering team. It was designed to help its wearer to determine the directional position of an object in their surroundings. The hat has six coin vibration motors in its bottom brim. These send vibrations to the wearer’s forehead according to where in space an object or person is. If an object is, for example, to the far right, the furthest motor on the right of the hat sends a vibration signal to the wearer.
To complement the information received from the haptic hat, our team also designed a device that is worn on the forearm.
The forearm device measures the distance between the wearer and an object in their surroundings, and communicates this information through vibration. Four vibration motors are placed at intervals along the length of the device. The device uses radar to determine how far away an object is and then sends signals to the motors to share this information with the wearer through vibration signals. Each motor represents a set distance, so if an object is closer than 1 meter, the motor closest to the wearer’s hand will vibrate; if the object is more than 4 meters away, the vibrations will be felt near the elbow.
The third device that our team subsequently developed combined the ability of the haptic hat and forearm device in one single piece of equipment. The resulting ‘haptic cap’ is also smaller in size and fits unto a standard baseball cap.
In contrast to the previous devices, the cap does not require separate vibration motors to communicate distance and direction. Instead, it shares information about the distance of an object with its wearer through the intensity of the vibration. Stronger vibrations alert the wearer to an object close by, while soft vibrations indicate that the object is still a distance away.
The haptic cap uses static radar to pick up an object in space. The data is then sent to the computing unit on the top of the cap peak that calculates the position of the objects and determines which of its five coin vibration motor to activate and with what intensity.
Visit the Research workshops section of the website to see all the equipment in action.
Public Events
To raise awareness about the impact of the pandemic on deafblind communities, our project also includes a number of public events and exhibitions. The events are developed in collaboration with members of the deafblind community. They are designed to offer unique audiovisual interpretations of deafblind experiences and open up space for dialogue and learning.
In November 2020, we created In Touch, an online exhibition of audiovisual artworks. The event was part of the Being Human Festival and showcased video works that responded to the question how the pandemic might affect our sense of touch.
A second public event took place on 18-21 May 2022. TouchScreen: Rethinking Perception through Sight and Skin was a multi-day programme of events that explored sense perception as our common ground for experiencing the world. It was co-curated with Amy Holdsworth, Senior Lecturer in Film and Television Studies at the University of Glasgow and David Upton, Public Programme Manager at LUX Scotland. The event included film screenings, talks, an exhibition and a workshop.
In June 2022, our work traveled to Canada to be included in the exhibition A Light Footprint in the Cosmos, at School for the Contemporary Arts, Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
The project was also presented at the ARCadia Festival in September 2022 which marked the opening of the University of Glasgow’s new Advanced Research Centre (ARC). As part of the festival, visitors could view the TouchTech film as well as Bharoto Yekti’s installation ‘Walking (no.2)‘.
Research Publications
An in-depth report and analysis of our project, written by Azadeh Emadi, is published under the title “Deafblindness, Touch and COVID-19“. It is part of the volume, Knowing the Pandemic, edited by Cooper Frederick, Des Fitzgerald and Pascale Aebsicher. The book is the first volume of a 4-volume series, published by Manchester University Press, that draws from across the AHRC portfolio. The book is expected to be published in late 2023/early 2024.
To share our findings directly with the wider reserach community, we also published a research paper on the technical aspects of the project in the scientific paper Sensors. The paper has the title Real-Time Scene Monitoring for Deaf-Blind People and is available for free via Open Access.
UKRI Case Study
Our project was recognised by our main funder, who recommended the project for public engagement:
Project to be put forward to be used in communications, including an e-mail to MPs, to show the real life impact UKRI funding has made.
UKRI-AHRC
The project was also showcased in a case study as part of the Pandemic and Beyond project.
Press Coverage
The project has been featured in a number of publications including:
- Daily Record: Deaf and blind pensioner was “trapped at home” due to pandemic.
- The Herald (Scotland): How Covid has left deafblind People suffering a lack of touch.
- MyScience: UofG project will investigate impact of touch deprivation on deafblind community.
- Edinburgh Live: Deaf and blind West Lothian man was trapped at home during covid pandemic (please note the article falsely claims Desmond is from West Lothian rather than Edinburgh).
- North Edinburgh News: Scottish research into the experiences of deaf and blind people during the COVID-19 pandemic reveals a deprivation in the sense of touch.
- North East Connected: Navigating through deaf blindness in a post-pandemic world.
- Glasgow University News: UofG Project Will Investigate Impact of Touch Deprivation on Deafblind Community..
Policy Recommendations
The audiovisual diaries and interviews we collected from members of the deafblind community have helped us to better understand the challenges and opportunities of this new post-pandemic world. In response to the insights we gathered, we developed a detailed policy brief. The document is designed to inform future policy as well as raise awareness with key stakeholders.
Our policy recommendations include:
- Environmental changes can be very disorienting for deafblind people. Expansion of hospitality to outdoor spaces should be regulated, with boundaries marking their extension. The needs of deafblind residents should be an integral consideration for any planning or urban development.
- Haptic alternatives should be included or incorporated alongside contactless technologies.
- Arts, education and other funders should facilitate collaborations with the deafblind community in order to enable increased social awareness and media representation of deafblind people.
The policy brief is showcased as part of the Pandemic and Beyond website, a virtual hub dedicated to the contribution of Arts and Humanities research to pandemic recovery.
Download our policy brief here.