Experiments with a Public Transit Assistant for Blind Passengers

Flores, Germán H.; Manduchi, Roberto

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-41267-2_7

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Still, this often falls short of supporting independent navigation, particularly in unfamiliar or complex locations [24,65]. A number of studies look into their experiences and the challenges they face in general mobility [10,13,42,54], and there is signifcant work trying to improve public transportation accessibility [20,29,43]. However, experiences in airports are usually left out or addressed very briefy.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airport Accessibility and Navigation Assistance for People with Visual Impairments

Guerreiro

Ahmetovic

Sato

et al. 2019

Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

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People with visual impairments often have to rely on the assistance of sighted guides in airports, which prevents them from having an independent travel experience. In order to learn about their perspectives on current airport accessibility, we conducted two focus groups that discussed their needs and experiences in-depth, as well as the potential role of assistive technologies. We found that independent navigation is a main challenge and severely impacts their overall experience. As a result, we equipped an airport with a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon-based navigation system and performed a real-world study where users navigated routes relevant for their travel experience. We found that despite the challenging environment participants were able to complete their itinerary independently, presenting none to few navigation errors and reasonable timings. This study presents the frst systematic evaluation posing BLE technology as a strong approach to increase the independence of visually impaired people in airports. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Empirical studies in accessibility; Accessibility technologies.

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Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airport Accessibility and Navigation Assistance for People with Visual Impairments

Guerreiro

Ahmetovic

Sato

et al. 2019

Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

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“…One of the conventional wayfinding solutions is the use of Bluetooth beacons or WiFi access points to provide micro-location information high accuracy on nearby landmarks. 4 , 21 – 25 The scalability and applicability of this approach in outdoor environments are restricted due to the high cost for infrastructure modification and maintenance. On the other hand, smartphones could allow rapid scaling of accessibility.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field Evaluation of a Mobile App for Assisting Blind and Visually Impaired Travelers to Find Bus Stops

Pundlik,

Shivshanker,

Traut-Savino

et al. 2024

Trans. Vis. Sci. Tech.

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Purpose GPS location-based navigation apps are insufficient to aid blind and visually impaired (BVI) travelers for micro-navigation tasks, such as finding the exact location of bus stops. The resulting large gaps could lead to BVI travelers missing their bus. We evaluated the ability of a signage detection mobile app, All_Aboard, to guide BVI travelers precisely to the bus stops compared to Google Maps alone. Methods The All_Aboard app detected bus stop signs in real-time via smartphone camera using a deep neural network model, and provided distance coded audio feedback to help localize the detected sign. BVI individuals used the All_Aboard and Google Maps app to localize 10 bus stops each in downtown and suburban Boston, Massachusetts. For each bus stop, the subjects used both apps to navigate as close as possible to the physical bus stop sign, starting from 30 to 50 meters away. The outcome measures were success rate and gap distance between the app-indicated location and the actual physical location of the bus stop. Results The study involved 24 legally blind participants (mean age [SD] = 51 [14] years; 11 [46%] women). The success rate of the All_Aboard app (91%) was significantly higher than the Google Maps (52%, P < 0.001). The gap distance when using the All_Aboard app was significantly lower (mean = 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2–2.3 meters) compared to the Google Maps alone (mean = 7, 95% CI = 6.5–7.5 meters, P < 0.001). Conclusions All_Aboard micro-navigation app guided BVI travelers to bus stops more accurately and reliably than a location-based macro-navigation app alone. Translational Relevance The All_Aboard app together with a macro-navigation app can potentially help BVI individuals independently access public transportation.

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