This was an Australian Research Council linkage project undertaken at the University of New South Wales School of Geomatic Engineering and Computer Science. I teamed up with a group of researchers to explore the development of a Mobility and Location Information System for the Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI).
Published paper
UNSW Innovation Awards 2012 - Finalist
A Blind/Vision Impaired (BVI) friendly information and navigation system. Providing social equity by enabling the BVI to access location specific information and navigate independently of others easily and confidently.
Technical background
The internal perception of surroundings by a person with limited or no sight is remarkably different to our own. How do we design an interface which delivers information to this particular group of users in the most accessible and meaningful way?
Research outcomes and Design recomendations
A great quantity of research has been undertaken on the cognitive mapping process of BVI users when attempting to navigate an unfamiliar environment. It has been found that associating landmarks with such areas is generally the most effective means of developing spatial awareness and remembering a route or set of directions.
Results below represents the proposed criteria for evaluation of an indoor navigation device for the BVI. It is important to note that while these criteria have been carefully constructed and delivered with respect to the most relevant findings in both the human-computer interaction and indoor navigation areas, it is only intended as an initial attempt. We hope this will inspire further refinement of the design criteria and collaboration amongst other researchers in this area.
| Considerations | Proposed Requirements |
|---|---|
| Robustness | If error varies with the environment, provide an estimate (best effort) of the error or provide a guaranteed error which applies to all readings. |
| Information outputted | Incorporate description and identification of landmarks as BVI users often use landmarks to identify with the environment, as opposed to building names or other textual references. |
| Information outputted | Distances and directions are often understood better by BVI users when described in egocentric measures and should be expressed in steps rather than metres/feet. Bearings should be expressed with reference to user’s current heading as opposed to the external environment. |
| Information outputted | The reliance on external sensory information, combined with the concurrent usage of one or more mobility aids/devices, places a large cognitive load on a BVI user. Minimise additional cognitive load due to use of the device, to allow user to apply more focus on their preferred mobility techniques and practices. |
