Creating Accessible Science Museums With User-Activated Environmental Audio Beacons (Ping!)

A Training Smartphone Application for the Simulation of Outdoor Blind Pedestrian Navigation: Usability, UX Evaluation, Sentiment Analysis

Training blind and visually impaired individuals is an important but often neglected aspect of Assistive Technology solutions (ATs) that can benefit from systems utilizing multiple sensors and hardware devices. Training serves a dual purpose as it not only enables the target group to effectively utilize the ATs but, also, helps in improving their low acceptance rate. In this paper, we present the design, implementation, and validation of a smartphone-based training application. It is a form of immersive system that enables users to learn the features of an outdoor blind pedestrian navigation application and, simultaneously, to help them develop long-term Orientation and Mobility (O&M) skills. The system consists of an Android application leveraging, as data sources, an external high-accuracy GPS sensor for real-time pedestrian mobility tracking, a second custom-made device attached to traffic lights for identifying their status, and an ultra-sonic sensor for detecting near-field obstacles on the navigation path of the users. The training version running as an Android application employs route simulation with audio and haptic feedback, is functionally equivalent to the main application, and was used in the context of specially designed user-centered training sessions. A Usability and User Experience (UX) evaluation revealed the positive attitude of the users towards the training version as well as their satisfaction with the skills acquired during their training sessions (SUS = 69.1, UEQ+ = 1.53). Further confirming the positive attitude was the conduct of a Recursive Neural Network (RNN)-based sentiment analysis on user responses with a score of 3 on a scale from 0 to 4. Finally, we conclude with the lessons learned and the proposal of general design guidelines concerning the observed lack of accessibility and non-universal interfaces.

Perception of sonified representations of complex systems by people who are blind

This research focused on examining the sonification properties that can lead people who are blind to distinguish and to identify different sounds. This research included 10 participants, all of whom were examined individually. They listened to a sonified scenario, which was generated by an agent-based NetLogo computer model of a gas particle in a container. The participants identified the different sounds as opposed to examining their ability to identify the value of the sounds or to understand the scientific phenomena as a result of hearing the model scenario. This research found that, in regard to complexity levels, the participants were able to identify stimuli that included up to four sounds. The analyses reveal that in the second trial the participants displayed heightened ability. The long-term practical benefits of this research may well influence program developers in education and rehabilitation for people who are blind. A learning environment based on sonified feedback can address a central need among people who are blind, providing equal access to learning environments equivalent to those available to sighted users and allowing independent interaction with exploratory materials and control of the learning process.

Newly blind persons using virtual environment system in a traditional orientation and mobility rehabilitation program: a case study

This paper presents a virtual reality system (the BlindAid) developed for orientation and mobility training of people who are newly blind. The BlindAid allows users to interact with different virtual structures and objects via auditory and haptic feedback. This case study aims to examine if and how the BlindAid, in conjunction with a traditional rehabilitation programme, can help people who are newly blind develop new orientation and mobility methods. Follow-up research based on this study, with a large experiment and control group, could contribute to the area of orientation and mobility rehabilitation training for the newly blind. The case study research focused on A., a woman who is newly blind, for 17 virtual sessions spanning ten weeks, during the 12 weeks of her traditional orientation and mobility rehabilitation programme. The research was implemented by using virtual environment (VE) exploration and orientation tasks in VE and physical spaces. The research methodology used both qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, questionnaire, videotape recording, and user computer logs. The results of this study helped elucidate several issues concerning the contribution of the BlindAid system to the exploration strategies and learning processes experienced by the participant in her encounters with familiar and unfamiliar physical surroundings. [Box: see text].