Touchnav

Navigation Cane for Touchnav

Touchnav is an innovative navigation aid that enables blind individuals to navigate independently, offering a heightened sense of security. Its tactile progress bar enhances users' awareness of their journey's progress, improving spatial awareness and safety. Memory point vibrations provide gentle guidance, strengthening users' connection to their environment. More than a mere tool, Touchnav is a supportive companion that boosts the confidence and safety of visually impaired users, empowering them to confidently engage with the world around them.

Download Press Kit № 159017

Download Press Kit № 159017 Navigation Cane for Touchnav by Jifeng Shen，Tianhao Liu，Guanghui Huang to access high-res images, essential texts, translations, and exclusive interviews—all in one.

Available Now for Your Next Story

At innovation|newsroom, we understand the pressures and deadlines journalists face. That’s why we offer exclusive access to our curated press kits and high-resolution images, tailored for accredited journalists. These resources are designed to enrich your stories with depth and visual appeal, spotlighting the world's most innovative designs.

Please Note:

• Credit the work's creator and/or photographer.
• Mention innovation|newsroom as your source.
• Share your published pieces with us; we love to celebrate and promote your work on our platform and social media.

Let’s Collaborate: Your stories matter. innovation|newsroom is here to support you with quality, accessible content. Once you are accredited, reach out for the images and content you need. We will provide the specific images and content directly, along with recommendations on works to feature.

Get Accredited Easily: Quick access to our resources requires media accreditation. Apply for media accreditation to join our network and start exploring a wealth of design stories.

Touchnav by Jifeng Shen Tianhao Liu Guanghui Huang

Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.

Navigation Cane by Jifeng Shen Tianhao Liu Guanghui Huang

Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.

Jifeng Shen Tianhao Liu Guanghui Huang Touchnav

Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.

Jifeng Shen Tianhao Liu Guanghui Huang Navigation Cane

Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.

TouchnavBrand Logo

Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.

Touchnav Navigation Cane Press Releases

Press releases for Touchnav are now accessible in these languages: English.

Touchnav Navigation Cane Media Articles

Our Touchnav articles are prepped and available in these languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Chinese (Mandarin), Portuguese, Indonesian, Japanese, Turkish, Russian, Korean, Hindi and Arabic (Standard), ready for your use.

Unique Properties

Traditional visual impairment aids focus on obstacle detection but lack in providing spatial and distance awareness. Touchnav converts invisible navigation paths into physical tactile feedback, enabling users to intuitively sense remaining distances, thus addressing this gap. Additionally, its vibration feature for identifying familiar locations boosts navigational confidence, significantly reducing anxiety in unfamiliar areas.

Tags

White cane, navigation, mobility assistive technology, progress bar, tactile feedback

Production Technology

The grip of the Touchnav is fabricated from ABS plastic material through the injection moulding process, with its surface treated with metal sandblasting to enhance its texture. It employs a snap-fit connection structure, making it easy to assemble and disassemble. To improve its waterproofness, a gasket is installed inside the grip, thus extending the product's lifespan. The main shaft of the walking stick is made from lightweight aluminium alloy, not only ensuring the product's waterproof and heat-resistant properties but also catering to the need for portability during travel. The smooth design of the shaft assures the extendibility of the walking stick. As for the tip of the cane, it is encased in wear-resistant PE hard plastic and 316 stainless steel, enhancing its durability while also ensuring excellent waterproof and anti-corrosion capabilities.

Design Challenge

The biggest challenge in this design activity is to transform abstract navigation information into tangible tactile feedback that can be intuitively perceived by visually impaired individuals. During the project development and implementation process, it is crucial to ensure that the technological solutions are innovative yet practical and meet the specific needs of visually impaired users. Internal challenges include understanding the perception methods of visually impaired users, designing intuitive tactile feedback mechanisms, and ensuring the comfort and ease of use of the device. External factors involve compliance with relevant laws and standards, the feasibility of the technology, production costs, and market acceptance. Overcoming these challenges requires interdisciplinary collaboration, involving experts from engineering, design, anthropology, psychology, and other fields, working together to ensure that the design meets the needs of visually impaired individuals and is viable and sustainable for practical application.

Project Duration

The project started in Hangzhou, China, in April 2023 and was completed in Macau, China, in January 2024.

Operation Flow

The primary function of this product is to materialize the entire navigation process into tangible form, which is achieved through four key steps: 1. Users can interact with Touchnav by pressing a voice command button to input their desired destination. 2. Upon receiving the voice input, Touchnav retrieves detailed information about the specified destination, including the location's coordinates, the user's estimated distance, and the anticipated travel time, providing a comprehensive overview for the user. 3. As the user moves, a progress bar slider on the cane advances in accordance with the planned navigation route, offering a tactile representation of the user's journey and the remaining distance to the destination. 4. In addition to tactile feedback, Touchnav also includes an audio module that verbally announces important location information along the route. This dual-mode feedback ensures that users receive clear and understandable navigation cues, enhancing their spatial awareness and orientation abilities.

Research

There are approximately 43 million visually impaired individuals worldwide, and the lack of independent and safe mobility is identified as the greatest barrier to their travel. Navigating can be particularly challenging for visually impaired persons, especially when confronted with complex traffic information, leading to anxiety due to a lack of safety. To underscore the significance of assistive mobility technologies in this context, we conducted qualitative research on the travel issues faced by visually impaired individuals. Our study involved user interviews for in-depth needs analysis, employing the Kano model to evaluate the use of mobility tools. We ultimately determined that converting navigation maps into tangible tactile feedback aids visually impaired individuals in enhancing their spatial and distance perception, thereby boosting their independence and sense of security while travelling. Our solution, Touchnav, is a navigational white cane that allows users to intuitively perceive distance and direction, reducing their anxiety in unfamiliar environments. Feedback from participants suggests that tactile feedback is regarded as a unique spatial perception ability, enhancing their safety and independence during mobility.

Inspiration

Inspired by the intrinsic human need for security and familiarity, we recognise that this need is particularly evident in the travel of the visually impaired. Traditional aids are often more focused on obstacle detection and fall short in providing spatial and distance perception. Can we use haptic feedback, a technology that converts complex data such as distance and direction into simple tactile signals, to provide a new navigation experience for visually impaired users?

Project Overview

Touchnav Navigation Cane has been a Bronze winner in the Product Engineering and Technical Design award category in the year 2023 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.

Image Credits

For design images and photos please credit Jifeng Shen，Tianhao Liu，Guanghui Huang.

Bronze Recognition

Jifeng Shen，Tianhao Liu，Guanghui Huang was recognized with the coveted Bronze A' Design Award in 2024, a testament to excellence of their work Touchnav Navigation Cane.

Jifeng Shen，Tianhao Liu，Guanghui Huang Press Releases

Our press releases on Jifeng Shen，Tianhao Liu，Guanghui Huang and their work are made freely available for press members looking to add depth to their content. Immediate access is granted to 1 press releases for all journalists.

Touchnav: Innovative Navigation Cane for Visually Impaired Individuals

An innovative navigation aid, Touchnav, designed by Jifeng Shen, Tianhao Liu, and Guanghui Huang, offers visually impaired individuals a heightened sense of security and independence while traveling. This tactile white cane provides spatial and distance perception through haptic feedback, addressing the limitations of traditional aids.

Jifeng Shen，Tianhao Liu，Guanghui Huang Newsroom

Access Jifeng Shen，Tianhao Liu，Guanghui Huang Newsroom to delve into the world of top-tier design and accolades.