Inventory of Electronic Mobility Aids for Persons with Visual Impairments: A Literature Review

Roentgen, Uta; Gelderblom, Gert Jan; Soede, M.; Witte, Luc de

doi:10.1177/0145482x0810201105

Cited by 127 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(14 reference statements)

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“…Electronic Orientation Aids (EOAs) are a second category of devices that provide the VI with some degree of situational awareness and guidance in unknown environments, dealing with more distant environments, aiding in a task sometimes called macronavigation. A review in 2009 of existing electronic mobility aids for the VI identified 146 devices, providing details on 21 commercially available systems that can be used without environmental adaptations [4]. The authors noted that many of the reviewed products are no longer available or are prototypes that are in development or failed to reach the market.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigation and space perception assistance for the visually impaired: The NAVIG project

Kammoun¹,

Parseihian²,

Gutierrez³

et al. 2012

IRBM

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigation and space perception assistance for the visually impaired: The NAVIG project

Kammoun¹,

Parseihian²,

Gutierrez³

et al. 2012

IRBM

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“…The training was implemented in two stages: (1) training all participants (introduction to the use of system technologies used), and (2) individual training (working with the service under real conditions). Before conducting the tests, participants were introduced to: (1) the main goals of the service and the functionality that the service offers, (2) RFID and NFC technologies and types of tags used, (3) how to read tags with the NFC sensor integrated into the mobile phone, (4) how the user interface works and how to use it, (5) what a user ID card is and how to launch the service with it, (6) how to tag objects from the real world (with special attention given to the way in which metal objects and those that contain metal foil are tagged), (7) how to create a voicebased description of objects, (8) how to scan objects, (9) how to delete and re-record audio recording(s), and (10) how to sync audio recordings and how to share audio recordings with other users. It is desirable, especially in the early days of using the service, for users to be able to get help.…”

Section: Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lowest score (3) was given by the older participants (1, 4, and 6). The lowest score (3) for criterion 3 (required attention) was given by the oldest participant (6). Proposed service was evaluated 32% higher for criterion 4 (functionality).…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[6]. In most cases, these devices have a high price (hundreds of dollars) and solve specific problems [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Relatively quick calculation of the image features allows the development of systems for object recognition that work nearly in real-time [11]. Computer-vision-based techniques have a higher functionality, but also drawbacks such as: (1) high cost of server-side hardware and software; (2) still low recognition accuracy of such techniques resulting in safety concerns for use by BVI persons [9,12]-recognition depends not only on the descriptor used but also on the training data, training algorithm and type of classifier; (3) such systems are sensitive to the illumination; (4) intensive camera use of mobile devices quickly shortens battery life; (5) intensive network traffic, especially in systems where images are processed entirely by software from the server side, involves paying a higher price for mobile data transfer; and (6) it is still hard to extract detailed descriptions of objects from images.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Blind-environment interaction through voice augmented objects

Ivanov

2014

J Multimodal User Interfaces

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This article presents an Java-based mobile service that enables blind-environment interaction through voice-augmented objects. To make this possible, it is necessary to tag the object with an associated radio frequency identification and record its voice-based description. The blind users can later use the service to scan surrounding augmented objects and verbalize their identity and characteristics. We use a user centred design in order to guarantee the accessibility of the service for visually impaired and blind people. The required hardware is a near field communication-enabled mobile phone with built-in accelerometer. The client-side application does not require pushing any buttons, browsing any menus, or touching any screens to select and activate any of supported modes: registration, calibration, voice recording, physical object identification, delete voice recording(s), cloud-based file sync and share. Twelve visually impaired individuals (aged 31-84, 6 men and 6 women) have tested the service in two different scenarios: (1) a test based on comparison with a PenFriend labeling unit, and (2) a users' experience test. The results show that selected tangible, multimodal interface (object touching, phone shaking and tilt, voice output) can be used very easily (58 %) or easily (33 %) by blind and visually impaired users who have had no previous experience with other mobile services. Most of participants from the test group agreed that the service could be useful for their daily activities. The service can be used both at home and in public buildings for voice description of objects such as food,

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The effectiveness of an interactive audio‐tactile map for the process of cognitive mapping and recall among people with visual impairments

2020

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Background People with visual impairments can experience numerous challenges navigating unfamiliar environments. Systems that operate as prenavigation tools can assist such individuals. This mixed‐methods study examined the effectiveness of an interactive audio‐tactile map tool on the process of cognitive mapping and recall, among people who were blind or had visual impairments. The tool was developed with the involvement of visually impaired individuals who additionally provided further feedback throughout this research. Methods A mixed‐methods experimental design was employed. Fourteen participants were allocated to either an experimental group who were exposed to an audio‐tactile map, or a control group exposed to a verbally annotated tactile map. After five minutes’ exposure, multiple‐choice questions examined participants’ recall of the spatial and navigational content. Subsequent semi‐structured interviews were conducted to examine their views surrounding the study and the product. Results The experimental condition had significantly better overall recall than the control group and higher average scores in all four areas examined by the questions. The interviews suggested that the interactive component offered individuals the freedom to learn the map in several ways and did not restrict them to a sequential and linear approach to learning. Conclusion Assistive technology can reduce challenges faced by people with visual impairments, and the flexible learning approach offered by the audio‐tactile map may be of particular value. Future researchers and assistive technology developers may wish to explore this further.

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Inventory of Electronic Mobility Aids for Persons with Visual Impairments: A Literature Review

Cited by 127 publications

References 12 publications

Navigation and space perception assistance for the visually impaired: The NAVIG project

Navigation and space perception assistance for the visually impaired: The NAVIG project

Blind-environment interaction through voice augmented objects

The effectiveness of an interactive audio‐tactile map for the process of cognitive mapping and recall among people with visual impairments

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