Synthetic Visual Sensations: Augmenting Human Spatial Awareness with a Wearable Retinal Electric Stimulation Device

Abstract

Alternating current stimulation of the retina (rACS) can non-invasively induce visual sensations called phosphenes (bright flashes) in the visual field. We explore the use of rACS to elicit visual sensations and explore the use cases of "seeing" objects behind the user. We designed a wearable rACS system and conducted a study to understand the visual sensations we could elicit and their efficacy when applied to augmenting a user’s spatial awareness. We found that our device reliably generated synthetic sensations and, when applied in an object avoidance task, significantly augmented users’ awareness of objects approaching them from behind compared to users with no stimulation feedback. Our results demonstrate how future research can use electrical stimulation in wearable systems for sensory enhancement.