VR-Assisted Guide Dog Training: A 360{\deg} PanoHaptic System for Right-Hand Commands Analysis

TL;DR

This paper introduces a VR system with panoramic visuals and haptic feedback to improve guide dog training, enabling novices to practice commands accurately and repeatedly, thereby addressing trainer shortages.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel VR-based platform integrating visual and haptic modules to enhance guide dog training for novices, improving command accuracy and training efficiency.

Findings

Enhanced training accuracy through immersive VR environment

Improved command timing and expressiveness with haptic feedback

Potential to increase guide dog availability by reducing trainer dependency

Abstract

This paper presents a VR-based guide dog training system designed to assist novice trainers in understanding guide dog behavior and issuing appropriate training commands. Guide dogs play a vital role in supporting independent mobility for visually impaired individuals, yet the limited number of skilled trainers restricts their availability. Training is highly demanding, requiring accurate observation of the dog's status and precise command issuance, especially through right-hand gestures. While the trainer's left hand holds the harness to perceive haptic cues, the right hand is used to indicate directions, maintain attention, and provide comfort, with motion patterns varying by scenario and the dog's progress. Currently, novices learn mainly by observing experts or watching videos, which lacks immersion and makes it difficult to adopt the trainer's perspective for understanding behavior or synchronizing command timing. To address these limitations, the proposed system introduces a VR-based assistive platform integrating panoramic visuals and haptic feedback to create an immersive training environment. The visual module provides contextual guidance, including cues for command execution and real-time comparison of the user's posture with standard actions, while the haptic module delivers tactile feedback for command gestures. Users can re-experience training sessions across diverse scenarios and dog proficiency levels, allowing independent and repeated practice. By improving the timing, accuracy, and expressiveness of right-hand commands, the system aims to accelerate skill acquisition, enhance training quality, and mitigate the shortage of qualified trainers, ultimately increasing the availability of guide dogs for visually impaired individuals.