BOLBORETA INNOVA GROUP / BOLBORETA INVESTIGA / IDEAS / TACTILE VISION FOR AUTONOMOUS MOBILITY

Touch Vision for autonomous movement

From touch to the brain:
a bridge to vision

From the lab to everyday life: remote environmental recognition through the integration of non‑invasive wearable technologies combined with passive tactile stimulation in children with visual impairment

Focus areas

Life Sciences

Type of research

Cross-modal stimulation

Place of realization

Mexico

Principal investigator

Tomás Ortiz Alonso

Start Date

October 2023

End Date

Ongoing

Technology readiness level (TRL)

6

Our Services

Funding, technological support, prototype development, and logistics

Sustainable Development Goals

CURRENT PHASE OF THE PROJECT

1

Problem DEFINITION

2

Hypothesis

3

Research for hypothesis validation

4

results ANALYSIS

5

Publication

WHAT THE PROJECT IS ABOUT

Compared to other research efforts and existing solutions, this project goes one step further in real‑world implementation, placing its focus on actual user experience and on how technology can be integrated naturally and non‑invasively into everyday life. The research centers on children who are blind from birth, whose high neuroplasticity offers a unique window of opportunity to train the brain to reinterpret touch as visual information

To support the study, a system has been developed that combines wearable technology with repetitive tactile stimulation. A micro‑camera embedded in glasses captures the surrounding environment and transmits the data to a processing system that converts it into vibratory patterns projected onto the abdomen. These stimuli activate tactile receptors and engage occipital brain areas traditionally associated with vision. Through a structured learning process, the initiative enables the creation of new functional maps in the cerebral cortex and, with training, enhances the ability to recognize the environment at a distance. The social objective is clear: to improve autonomy and social integration for children with congenital or acquired blindness by reducing learning times and providing a non‑invasive, lightweight, scalable, and universally applicable tool. The results achieved so far show consistent progress aligned with the project’s goals. Participants are already able to identify shapes, objects, people, and even letters—demonstrating the significant potential of this line of research.

Feeling to see. Innovate to include.

KEY WORDS:
Neuroscience
Tactile vision
Neuroplasticity
Childhood blindness
Sensory substitution
Passive tactile stimulation
fMRI
EEG
Haptic Interfaces
Autonomous movement
Environmental perception
Spatial exploration

The study follows a group of children with visual impairment over the course of one year to assess how this system enables them to “see” through touch. Three types of data are combined: Qualitative and functional feedback from the children’s daily experiences, brain activity measured via electroencephalography (EEG), in selected cases, neuroimaging data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). All data is collected while participants use smart glasses equipped with micro‑cameras and a device that delivers subtle vibrations to the skin, allowing recognition of lines, letters, objects, and spatial layouts. This integrated approach enables the research team to observe learning patterns, brain reorganization, and tangible improvements in daily life.

Sample

22 children aged 4–9 years
14 with congenital blindness (experimental group)
8 with similar characteristics (control group)
Exclusion criteria: additional sensory deficit, intellectual disability, brain injury, neuropsychiatric pathologies.

Device

Glasses with integrated micro cameras
Abdominal tactile stimulator
Vibration‑based stimulation targeting Merkel receptors
Integrated video-tactile system with complementary auditory stimuli.

Data collection

Behavioral: daily questionnaire on sensations and recognition.
Multichannel EEG: tactile evoked potentials (lines, figures, letters).
3T MRI: volumetric analysis, structural connectivity and gene correlation (Allen Brain Atlas).

Training protocol

June 2024 / Phase one
Assessment and initial sensitization

The process begins with families, whose role is essential in understanding each child’s reality and tailoring the intervention accordingly.

In the first weeks, an in‑depth interview is conducted with the child and their family. A specialized psychologist gathers personal, emotional, social, and educational information to understand context, challenges, and individual characteristics. This baseline assessment determines group assignment and protocol suitability.

After this first contact, we move on to the neuroscientific assessment phase. This is where medical evidence helps us see beyond the observable. To this end, we carry out:

Electroencephalogram (EEG)
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at a 3-tesla reference center (CT SCANNER, Mexico)

Once clinical assessments are complete, tactile sensitization begins. Over four months, children undergo brief but consistent training sessions—ten minutes, three times a day—designed to support gradual neural adaptation and the formation of new connections. As training progresses, abdominal tactile sensitivity develops, preparing participants for subsequent phases.

Only after fully understanding each child’s background, environment, brain activity, and sensory baseline can a personalized development path be defined.

December 2024 / Phase two
Training and learning

As training advances, participants progressively interpret tactile stimuli, learning to identify objects and recognize people through a structured, motivating process. Each day, a new sense comes online.

To enhance this learning, we incorporate new tools:

An upgraded tactile belt with additional motors to expand perception.
Glasses equipped with dual cameras,  completely synchronized with the girdle.

Together, these devices translate the environment into clear sensations—vibration, pressure, and sound—indicating distance, height, and spatial orientation.

The world begins to take shape through new sensory pathways. Every stimulus becomes a discovery. Every milestone, a concrete step toward independence.

September 2025 / Phase three
Results collection.

This is the moment to look back—and measure how far we’ve come.

Clinical assessments evaluate neurological progress, providing answers about what has changed, what has improved, and how perception continues to evolve.

At this stage, participants receive the final version of the glasses —the most refined and precise iteration of the system. With it, children explore their environment with greater fluency, confidence, and autonomy.

As at the project’s outset, impact is measured through:

EEG
MRI as we did at the beginning of the project.

This enables direct comparison, deeper understanding of progress, and continuous optimization of the system.

But the work doesn't end here

All participants complete the full process. The goal is not only to generate data, but to create real opportunities along the way.

The technology developed is not conceived solely as a medical advancement, but as a pathway to greater autonomy, inclusion, daily well‑being, and, in the future, improved educational and employment opportunities.

Its impact extends beyond the children involved, reaching families, schools, professionals, and communities that participate, learn, and grow alongside the technology.

Each phase advances through science—but the purpose behind it is deeply human: enabling more people to see the world… differently.

TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

Sensitization belt.

Learning belt and glasses

A new way of seeing through the skin

Hypothesis validation required the end‑to‑end development of a dermal vision system encompassing wearable hardware, control firmware, and application software—forming a complete experimental platform:

Smart Glasses: The system’s sensory input layer. Equipped with a range (3D) camera, a conventional camera, and speakers, the glasses also integrate control electronics and logic modules. All functions—fine‑tuning, firmware updates, and maintenance—are managed directly via onboard controls.

Haptic belt: The core human‑machine interface, responsible for dermal perception. It features a matrix of 256 electromagnetic actuators generating two‑dimensional tactile patterns.

Lithium-ion battery: High‑density power designed to support continuous system operation throughout testing phases.

A dedicated application enhances user experience, while custom firmware optimizes computational and logical system resources

Explore the challenges behind the design and development of this device through the eyes of its creators. In this interview, the engineers behind its development share their insights, key learnings, and reflections. Press play to discover more.