Digital Technologies in Orientation and Mobility Instruction for People Who are Blind or Have Low Vision

Abstract

This paper investigates the tools and practices used by Orientation and Mobility (O&M) specialists in instructing people who are blind or have low vision in concepts, skills, and techniques for safe and independent travel. Based on interviews with experienced instructors who practice in different O&M settings we find that a shortage of qualified specialists and restrictions on in-person activities during COVID-19 has accelerated interest in remote instruction and assessment, while widespread adoption of smartphones with accessibility support has driven interest in assistive apps. This presents both opportunities and challenges for a practice that is traditionally conducted in-person and assessed through qualitative observations. In response we identify multiple opportunities for HCI research in service of O&M, including: supporting a 'physician's assistant' model of remote O&M instruction and assessment, matching O&M instructors' clients with guide dogs, highlighting clients' progress towards O&M goals, and collaboratively planning routes and monitoring clients' independent travel progress.

Functional performance of a vibrotactile sensory substitution device in people with profound vision loss

“…8 Smartphone applications have also been widely adopted by people with low vision for travel and route planning, such as Google Maps (Alphabet Inc., Mountain View, CA) and Uber (Uber Technologies Inc., San Francisco, CA). 9 Sensory substitution devices are a class of devices that use a working physical sense, such as auditory or tactile, to translate information from one sensory modality to the other to assist people with sensory deficits. Sensory substitution devices were originally investigated by Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita in the mid-20th century.…”

“…Other products, such as the OrCam (OrCam Technologies Ltd., Jerusalem, Israel), translate camera images to audio narrative, with text recognition 8 . Smartphone applications have also been widely adopted by people with low vision for travel and route planning, such as Google Maps (Alphabet Inc., Mountain View, CA) and Uber (Uber Technologies Inc., San Francisco, CA) 9 …”