Evaluation of the electronic long cane: improving mobility in urban environments

Hersh, Marion; Ramírez, Alejandro Rafael García

doi:10.1080/0144929x.2018.1490454

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Some studies also report observations of blind users using the technology. Hersh and Garcia Ramirez [48] conducted a two-part study with an ultrasound enhanced white cane. The first part of their experiment involved a prolonged use of the cane in a real urban environment at two locations in Brazil with five experienced cane users of which three were blind and two with low vision.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are electronic white canes better than traditional canes? A comparative study with blind and blindfolded participants

Santos

Médola

Cinelli

et al. 2020

Univ Access Inf Soc

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Visually impaired individuals often rely on assistive technologies such as white canes for independent navigation. Many electronic enhancements to the traditional white cane have been proposed. However, only a few of these proof-of-concept technologies have been tested with authentic users, as most studies rely on blindfolded non-visually impaired participants or no testing with participants at all. Experiments involving blind users are usually not contrasted with the traditional white cane. This study set out to compare an ultrasound-based electronic cane with a traditional white cane. Moreover, we also compared the performance of a group of visually impaired participants (N = 10) with a group of blindfolded participants without visual impairments (N = 31). The results show that walking speed with the electronic cane is significantly slower compared to the traditional white cane. Moreover, the results show that the performance of the participants without visual impairments is significantly slower than for the visually impaired participants. No significant differences in obstacle detection rates were observed across participant groups and device types for obstacles on the ground, while 79% of the hanging obstacles were detected by the electronic cane. The results of this study thus suggest that electronic canes present only one advantage over the traditional cane, namely in its ability to detect hanging obstacles, at least without prolonged practice. Next, blindfolded participants are insufficient substitutes for blind participants who are expert cane users. The implication of this study is that research into digital white cane enhancements should include blind participants. These participants should be followed over time in longitudinal experiments to document if practice will lead to improvements that surpass the performance achieved with traditional canes.

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Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are electronic white canes better than traditional canes? A comparative study with blind and blindfolded participants

Santos

Médola

Cinelli

et al. 2020

Univ Access Inf Soc

Self Cite

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“…They were frequently in the form of a cane and detected obstacles at a height or a long distance e.g. the laser cane, the smart cane, the ultracane, the Tom Pouce and Télétact [Pissaloux et al, 2016], the EyeCane [Buchs et al, 2017] and electronic long cane [Hersh and García Ramírez, 2018]. Some of the more recent devices extract environmental information using cameras and signal processing algorithms [Pissaloux et al, 2016] [Bai et al, 2019].…”

Section: Development Of Electronic Mobility Aidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A model with some degree of success in the area of electronic canes is the production of a small number of devices, with the developer organising a training programme and/or remaining in contact with and continuing to provide support for users. Examples include the Tom Pouce and Télétact [Pissaloux et al, 2016] and the electronic long cane [Hersh and García Ramírez, 2018].…”

Section: The Implications For Developing Travel Aidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Maps and the Use of Sensory Information by Blind and Partially Sighted People

Hersh

2020

ACM Trans. Access. Comput.

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The paper aims to fill an important gap in the literature by reporting on blind and partially sighted people's use of spatial representations (mental maps) from their perspective and when travelling on real routes. The results presented here were obtained from semi-structured interviews with 100 blind and partially sighted people in five different countries. They are intended to answer three questions about the representation of space by blind and partially sighted people, how these representations are used to support travel and the implications for the design of travel aids and orientation and mobility training. They show that blind and partially sighted people do have spatial representations and that a number of them explicitly use the term mental map. The paper discusses the variety of approaches to spatial representations, including the sensory modalities used, the use of global or local representations and the applications to support travel. The conclusions summarise the answers to the three questions and include a two-level preliminary classification of the spatial representations of blind and partially sighted people.

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“…Outdoor mobility is one of the significant challenges for people with vision impairment (PVI), especially in an unfamiliar environment. Globally, PVI still rely on the white cane and guide dog for primary mobility [1]. The white cane gained widespread attention due to its robustness, object detection effectiveness, simplicity, low cost, lightweight, and portability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, the limitation of the cane is the inability to provide full safe mobility. For example, the cane lacks the capacity to detect chest or head-level obstacles [1], small obstacles and various terrain types [2]. Besides, cane techniques require a long training period to be well-understood [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Listening to the Voice of People with Vision Impairment

Malkawi¹,

Kamaruddin²,

Halin³

et al. 2023

IJACSA

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Extensive research developed assistive technologies (ATs) to improve mobility for people with vision impairment (PVI). However, a limited number of PVI rely on ATs for mobility. One of the factors contributing to the limited reliability and low acceptance of ATs is the developers' failure to consider PVI mobility traits from the target group's perspective. Many developers and researchers proposed solutions based on their knowledge and experiences, where PVI have been excluded from several studies except for limited involvement in testing phases. Accordingly, this study aims to bridge this gap by providing comprehensive information on PVIs' behaviors, challenges, and requirements for safe and independent outdoor mobility. Therefore, a total of 15 participants with vision impairment were involved in semi-structured interviews and two observation sessions. One key finding highlights the need for AT that complements the conventional cane and overcomes its limitations, not substituting the cane. Moreover, the proposed AT should address instant mobility and future needs simultaneously. Overall, the study contributes to providing comprehensive knowledge on PVI safe and independent mobility traits, which assist AT developers to explore the potential barriers and facilitators of the adoption of ATs among PVIs and leads to develop effective and reliable ATs that meet their needs. For future work, the researchers will develop an AT that complements the conventional cane, supports instant mobility, and enhances cognitive map formation.

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Evaluation of the electronic long cane: improving mobility in urban environments

Cited by 7 publications

References 48 publications

Are electronic white canes better than traditional canes? A comparative study with blind and blindfolded participants

Are electronic white canes better than traditional canes? A comparative study with blind and blindfolded participants

Mental Maps and the Use of Sensory Information by Blind and Partially Sighted People

Listening to the Voice of People with Vision Impairment

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