Headlock

Abstract

Traversing large open spaces is a challenging task for blind cane users, as such spaces are often devoid of tactile features that can be followed. Consequently, in such spaces cane users may veer from their intended paths. Wearable devices have great potential for assistive applications for users who are blind as they typically feature a camera and support hands and eye free interaction. We present HEAD-LOCK, a navigation aid for an optical head-mounted display that helps blind users traverse large open spaces by letting them lock onto a salient landmark across the space, such as a door, and then providing audio feedback to guide the user towards the landmark. HEADLOCK consists of interface modes for discovering landmarks, guiding a user towards a landmark, and recovering from an error state if a landmark is lost. HEADLOCK is designed with two forms of audio feedback: sonification and text-to-speech.