Android Based Electronic Travel Aid System for Blind People

Abstract

Part 13: AI Applications - Mobile ApplicationsInternational audienceBlindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors. Blind people do not have the full perception of the surrounding environment, though navigating, in an unknown environment or/and with obstacles on route, can be a very difficult task. In this paper, an information mobile system is presented, that acts as an electronic travel aid, and can guide a blind person through a route, inform him about imminent obstacles in his path and help him orientate himself. The current prototype consists of a mobile phone, and the developed application

A Comprehensive Examination of Electronic Wayfinding Technology for Visually Impaired Travelers in an Urban Environment

“…More recently, attention has been placed on the development of smartphone-based technologies to facilitate visually impaired users in their wayfinding activities (Coughlan and Manduchi, 2009;Kane et al, 2009;Narasimhan et al, 2009;Swobodzinski and Raubal, 2009;Zöllner et al, 2011;Ahmetovic, 2013;Hakobyan et al, 2013;Caldini et al, 2015;Diamantatos and Kavallieratou, 2014;Ye et al, 2014;Griffin-Shirley et al, 2017). A widely under-explored component in these works, however, is the empirical assessment of smartphone-based wayfinding technologies in terms of their usefulness (i.e., the degree to which a product enables a user to achieve his or her goals, which includes the user's intrinsic motivation) and usability (i.e., the degree to which a product is able or fit to be used) of these technologies (Davis, 1989) for visually impaired users, which is particularly relevant for the study at hand.…”