BusMyFriend

Yu, Carolyn; Li, Yee; Huang, Tsai-Yuan; Hsieh, Wei-An; Lee, Shao-Yu; Yeh, I-Hui; Lin, Gang Ku; Yu, Neng-Hao; Tang, Hsien-Hui; Chang, Yi‐Jun

doi:10.1145/3393914.3395879

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In addition, the type of station has an impact on the accessibility of required services. For example, at a bus stop, the 'Finding the Correct Service' step is about catching the correct bus for the destination when it arrives at a bus stop [97], [98], [99], [100]. In contrast, in an airport or in a huge train station, this step is more difficult [37], [101].…”

Section: A Outdoor Navigation Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Survey on Outdoor Navigation Applications for People With Visual Impairments

et al. 2023

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Outdoor navigation remains a challenging activity for People with Visual Impairments (PVI). Having examined the current literature, we conclude that there are very few publications providing a nuanced understanding of how PVI undertake a journey in an outdoor environment and what are their main challenges and obstacles. This is a critical step towards developing robust solutions that meet the requirements of this user group. We undertook a questionnaire-based study with the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) and 49 PVI. According to the feedback from our questionnaire, current journey navigation apps do not provide PVI with sufficient information about traffic lights, crossroads, and physical obstacles to support a satisfactory interaction. Our study reveals key aspects of how PVI interact with outdoor navigation applications. Critical gaps exist, for example, over 63% of respondents indicated they had suffered an injury on at least one previous occasion when navigating outdoors. Based on the questionnaire feedback, we present a solution covering the main aspects of outdoor navigation for PVI. Our work aims to contribute to the improvement of outdoor navigation applications for PVI in the future.

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Section: A Outdoor Navigation Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Survey on Outdoor Navigation Applications for People With Visual Impairments

et al. 2023

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“…Sáez et al in [33] presented a system called MOVIDIS, which allows VIBP users to interact with buses and stations by means of radio frequency (RF) modules for communication purposes. Yu et al in [34] presented a new system for bus reservation service called BusMyFriend. It comprises a mobile app that provides a seamless bus reservation service, and gives a notification through a bus telematics system.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Outdoor Navigation Assistance System for Visually Impaired People in Public Transportation

et al. 2021

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Visually impaired and blind people (VIBP) have to face significant difficulties on trying to locate public transport vehicles and bus stops due to their vision restrictions. Over the past decade, diverse assistance systems have been developed to solve this problem. However, most of them are based upon the global positioning system (GPS) and present satellite coverage problems in indoor environments. Some others are wearable prototypes that turn out to be onerous for the user. This paper presents an assistance system for VIBP in the use of public transportation. The proposed system uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology for location and communication purposes and a developed mobile application for user-smartphone interaction. The BLE beacons are installed on buses and their stops; accordingly, the mobile application tracks them in real-time and provides the relevant information to the user by means of verbal instructions; transportation line, destination, next stop name, and current location. This information allows the user to properly select the desired bus in advance and get off at the correct destination stop. The proposed system has been tested within two different scenarios; (1) under controlled conditions and (2) in a real environment. The results show that the proposed system is 97.6% effective when VIBP travel from one point to another independently. In addition, according to an assessment sheet completed by the participants, the proposed system grants them greater confidence and independence than GPS-based systems because of the following reasons; firstly, it can work with internet connection or without internet connection. Secondly, it is not an onerous system; information about the location of vehicles and stops is provided in real-time. Last but not least, it does not present satellite coverage problems in indoor environments. INDEX TERMSAssistive technology, visually impaired people, blind passenger, mobile application, public transport, bluetooth low energy technology I. SALVADOR MARTÍNEZ-CRUZ received the degree in Electromechanical Engineering and the M.Sc. degree in Mechatronics from the Faculty of Engineering, University Autonomous of Queretaro, Mexico, in 2016 and 2019, respectively. He is currently working towards the Ph.D. degree at the Autonomous University of Queretaro with the department of Mechatronics, Mexico. His research interests are in the fields of image processing, signal processing, and mechatronics. LUIS A. MORALES-HERNÁNDEZ received the degree in electromechanical engineering, the M.Sc. degree in instrumentation and automatic control, and the Ph.D. degree in engineering from the Faculty of Engineering, University Autonomous of Queretaro, Mexico, in 2004, 2005, and 2009, respectively. He is currently a Head Professor with the Faculty of Engineering, Autonomous University of Queretaro, where he holds electromechanical engineering and mechatronics master's and doctoral positions, respectively. He is involved in some governmental projects and technology transfer contracts to in...

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An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on Training

Theodorou

Tsiligkos

Μηλιώνης

et al. 2022

Sensors

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Navigation assistive technologies have been designed to support the mobility of people who are blind and visually impaired during independent navigation by providing sensory augmentation, spatial information and general awareness of their environment. This paper focuses on the extended Usability and User Experience (UX) evaluation of BlindRouteVision, an outdoor navigation smartphone application that tries to efficiently solve problems related to the pedestrian navigation of visually impaired people without the aid of guides. The proposed system consists of an Android application that interacts with an external high-accuracy GPS sensor tracking pedestrian mobility in real-time, a second external device specifically designed to be mounted on traffic lights for identifying traffic light status and an ultrasonic sensor for detecting near-field obstacles along the route of the blind. Moreover, during outdoor navigation, it can optionally incorporate the use of Public Means of Transport, as well as provide multiple other uses such as dialing a call and notifying the current location in case of an emergency. We present findings from a Usability and UX standpoint of our proposed system conducted in the context of a pilot study, with 30 people having varying degrees of blindness. We also received feedback for improving both the available functionality of our application and the process by which the blind users learn the features of the application. The method of the study involved using standardized questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The evaluation took place after the participants were exposed to the system’s functionality via specialized user-centered training sessions organized around a training version of the application that involves route simulation. The results indicate an overall positive attitude from the users.

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BusMyFriend

Cited by 4 publications

References 9 publications

A Survey on Outdoor Navigation Applications for People With Visual Impairments

A Survey on Outdoor Navigation Applications for People With Visual Impairments

An Outdoor Navigation Assistance System for Visually Impaired People in Public Transportation

An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on Training

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