Bone-Conduction Audio Interface to Guide People with Visual Impairments

Lock, Jacobus C.; Gilchrist, Iain D.; Cielniak, Grzegorz; Bellotto, Nicola

doi:10.1007/978-981-15-1301-5_43

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Another way around the performance issue in the elevation dimension is to transmit the elevation angle by adjusting the audio tone's pitch, such as in the work by Durette et al [2008]. We expanded upon the latter's work and investigated using spatialised audio and a varying pitch for guidance in an initial study [Lock et al 2019b], and found that participants are able to adequately determine a target's elevation. The measured performance is comparable to those of more expensive and over-ear headphones.…”

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Current technological limitations include prohibitive costs, bulky hardware requirements and nonuser-friendly interfaces Golledge et al 2004;Yusif et al 2016]. To address these issues, we implemented a handheld mobile system that is based on a concept proposed by Lock et al [2019a] and tested by Lock et al [2019b] using a Google Tango device that is able to localise itself in real-time. This system has the benefit of minimal hardware requirements and a compact, familiar form-factor, which will help to overcome the hurdle of user-acceptance and usability.…”

Section: System Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The pan angle can still be conveyed with a spatialised audio signal generated by an HRTF. Indeed, this dimension is unaffected by the use of bone-conduction headphones [Lock et al 2019b;MacDonald et al 2006;Schonstein et al 2008;Stanley and Walker 2006]. This interface was implemented and evaluated in Lock et al [2019b].…”

Section: System Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In previous work, we showed that this audio signal transmission scheme can direct users to a target position with a level of accuracy comparable to fully spatialised signals used with expensive closed-cup headphones. These results were presented at the 9th International Workshop on Assistive Engineering in 2019 [Lock et al 2019b]. We expand upon this initial investigation with a larger dataset and look at if, and how, changing the behaviour of the pitch affects target acquisition performance in terms of time and angular error.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The angle reference system that the guidance instructions are based on is also included , showing the camera vector, C, and the pan and elevation angles to the target. Adapted from Lock et al [2019b]. or no vision. However, in the literature, these techniques are typically limited to directing electromechanical servos [Bajcsy et al 2018] and in this project, we attempt to find out if similar techniques can be used to direct a user's attention to a target location.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Experimental Analysis of a Spatialised Audio Interface for People with Visual Impairments

Lock

Gilchrist

Cielniak

et al. 2020

ACM Trans. Access. Comput.

Self Cite

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Sound perception is a fundamental skill for many people with severe sight impairments. The research presented in this paper is part of an ongoing project with the aim to create a mobile guidance aid to help people with vision impairments find objects within an unknown indoor environment. This system requires an effective non-visual interface and uses bone-conduction headphones to transmit audio instructions to the user. It has been implemented and tested with spatialised audio cues, which convey the direction of a predefined target in 3D space. We present an in-depth evaluation of the audio interface with several experiments that involve a large number of participants, both blindfolded and with actual visual impairments, and analyse the pros and cons of our design choices. In addition to producing results comparable to the state-of-the-art, we found that Fitts's Law (a predictive model for human movement) provides a suitable a metric that can be used to improve and refine the quality of the audio interface in future mobile navigation aids. CCS Concepts: • Human-centered computing → HCI theory, concepts and models; Laboratory experiments; Sound-based input / output; Pointing devices; Empirical studies in accessibility.

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Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: System Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: System Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Experimental Analysis of a Spatialised Audio Interface for People with Visual Impairments

Lock

Gilchrist

Cielniak

et al. 2020

ACM Trans. Access. Comput.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Smart Blind Assistant using Deep Learning for the Visually Impaired Users

Reddy S,

Sathyasri,

Jeya Sheela

et al. 2023

2023 Second International Conference on Augmented Intelligence and Sustainable Systems (ICAISS)

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Field Evaluation of a Mobile App for Assisting Blind and Visually Impaired Travelers to Find Bus Stops

Pundlik,

Shivshanker,

Traut-Savino

et al. 2024

Trans. Vis. Sci. Tech.

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Purpose GPS location-based navigation apps are insufficient to aid blind and visually impaired (BVI) travelers for micro-navigation tasks, such as finding the exact location of bus stops. The resulting large gaps could lead to BVI travelers missing their bus. We evaluated the ability of a signage detection mobile app, All_Aboard, to guide BVI travelers precisely to the bus stops compared to Google Maps alone. Methods The All_Aboard app detected bus stop signs in real-time via smartphone camera using a deep neural network model, and provided distance coded audio feedback to help localize the detected sign. BVI individuals used the All_Aboard and Google Maps app to localize 10 bus stops each in downtown and suburban Boston, Massachusetts. For each bus stop, the subjects used both apps to navigate as close as possible to the physical bus stop sign, starting from 30 to 50 meters away. The outcome measures were success rate and gap distance between the app-indicated location and the actual physical location of the bus stop. Results The study involved 24 legally blind participants (mean age [SD] = 51 [14] years; 11 [46%] women). The success rate of the All_Aboard app (91%) was significantly higher than the Google Maps (52%, P < 0.001). The gap distance when using the All_Aboard app was significantly lower (mean = 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2–2.3 meters) compared to the Google Maps alone (mean = 7, 95% CI = 6.5–7.5 meters, P < 0.001). Conclusions All_Aboard micro-navigation app guided BVI travelers to bus stops more accurately and reliably than a location-based macro-navigation app alone. Translational Relevance The All_Aboard app together with a macro-navigation app can potentially help BVI individuals independently access public transportation.

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Bone-Conduction Audio Interface to Guide People with Visual Impairments

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

Experimental Analysis of a Spatialised Audio Interface for People with Visual Impairments

Experimental Analysis of a Spatialised Audio Interface for People with Visual Impairments

Smart Blind Assistant using Deep Learning for the Visually Impaired Users

Field Evaluation of a Mobile App for Assisting Blind and Visually Impaired Travelers to Find Bus Stops

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