Abstract

This article reports the design, implementation, and formative perception-based evaluation of an early-stage virtual reality (VR) prototype that integrates a virtual cane, localized haptic feedback, 3D audio, and a three-layer bioinspired sensing framework. The prototype was implemented in Unity 2022.3 using the XR Interaction Toolkit and URP and was structured according to design science research methodology (DSRM). The bat–whisker–contact framework was used as a functional abstraction to organize distal auditory reference or warning, proximal haptic feedback, and contact confirmation; it was not evaluated against a non-bioinspired baseline. The completed evaluation consisted of an anonymous, voluntary, post-use questionnaire administered to 25 sighted participants who could select which visual-input configurations to experience. The analysis focused on reported clarity, tolerability, initial signal interpretability, and design feedback; it did not include objective navigation metrics or assess clinical efficacy, training transfer, accessibility outcomes, or orientation-and-mobility performance in blind or low-vision users. General responses suggested favorable perceived clarity and multimodal usefulness, while cane length, floor-versus-wall/obstacle differentiation, and reported discomfort identified priorities for technical refinement. In the simulated no-vision condition (n = 21), participants reported high reliance on the cane response, whereas reported initial insecurity or doubt and basic mental map ratings remained mixed. The study contributes an early-stage technological artifact and a formative basis for subsequent controlled evaluations with objective performance measures, reference conditions, and target users or orientation and mobility specialists.

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