Gaining insight for the design, development, deployment and distribution of assistive navigation systems for blind and visually impaired people through a detailed user requirements elicitation

Theodorou, Paraskevi; Μηλιώνης, Απόστολος

doi:10.1007/s10209-022-00885-9

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…BUs express difficulty in navigating and finding the required information on the web. Moreover, a percentage of the BUs are over the age of 18 [19]. In this regard, there is an immediate need to explore a tool that can structure the content information content that adopts the BU cognitive needs and allows them to explore the information on the web effectively.…”

Section: Bu Accessibility Standardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

WSREB Mechanism: Web Search Results Exploration Mechanism for Blind Users

Naseer,

Rashid,

Saddal

et al. 2023

Applied Sciences

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In the contemporary digital landscape, web search functions as a pivotal conduit for information dissemination. Nevertheless, blind users (BUs) encounter substantial barriers in leveraging online services, attributable to intrinsic deficiencies in the information structure presented by online platforms. A critical analysis reveals that a considerable segment of BUs perceive online service access as either challenging or unfeasible, with only a fraction of search endeavors culminating successfully. This predicament stems largely from the linear nature of information interaction necessitated for BUs, a process that mandates sequential content relevancy assessment, consequently imposing cognitive strain and fostering information disorientation. Moreover, the prevailing evaluative metrics for web service efficacy—precision and recall—exhibit a glaring oversight of the nuanced behavioral and usability facets pertinent to BUs during search engine design. Addressing this, our study introduces an innovative framework to facilitate information exploration, grounded in the cognitive principles governing BUs. This framework, piloted using the Wikipedia dataset, seeks to revolutionize the search result space through categorical organization, thereby enhancing accessibility for BUs. Empirical and usability assessments, conducted on a cohort of legally blind individuals (N = 25), underscore the framework’s potential, demonstrating notable improvements in web content accessibility and system usability, with categorical accuracy standing at 84% and a usability quotient of 72.5%. This research thus holds significant promise for redefining web search paradigms to foster inclusivity and optimized user experiences for BUs.

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Section: Bu Accessibility Standardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

WSREB Mechanism: Web Search Results Exploration Mechanism for Blind Users

Naseer,

Rashid,

Saddal

et al. 2023

Applied Sciences

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“…The UEQ+ framework currently offers several UX scales. After careful consideration of the challenges, of the results of the user requirements elicitation stage [61,80], by which the blind and visually impaired users become part of the process of defining the evaluation criteria, and of the importance ratings given by the blind users to a preselected set of scales, we concluded that the following scales best describe the UX impression for the features that are deemed to have a higher value. Based on the available categories of UEQ+, the following were selected particularly for our case:…”

Section: Ueq+ Standardized Questionnairementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The benefit of this activity is that we can further solidify the validity of the findings. Our framework also emphasizes user participation into the process of defining the evaluation criteria by incorporating needs, beliefs, opinions, characteristics, personality and attitudes that were the result of the user requirements' elicitation stage [61,80]. In addition, it includes user-centered courses incorporated in the existing O&M courses of the Lighthouse for the Blind of Greece with the cooperation of the instructors.…”

Section: Consistency Of the Evaluation Categoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on Training

Theodorou

Tsiligkos

Μηλιώνης

et al. 2022

Sensors

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Navigation assistive technologies have been designed to support the mobility of people who are blind and visually impaired during independent navigation by providing sensory augmentation, spatial information and general awareness of their environment. This paper focuses on the extended Usability and User Experience (UX) evaluation of BlindRouteVision, an outdoor navigation smartphone application that tries to efficiently solve problems related to the pedestrian navigation of visually impaired people without the aid of guides. The proposed system consists of an Android application that interacts with an external high-accuracy GPS sensor tracking pedestrian mobility in real-time, a second external device specifically designed to be mounted on traffic lights for identifying traffic light status and an ultrasonic sensor for detecting near-field obstacles along the route of the blind. Moreover, during outdoor navigation, it can optionally incorporate the use of Public Means of Transport, as well as provide multiple other uses such as dialing a call and notifying the current location in case of an emergency. We present findings from a Usability and UX standpoint of our proposed system conducted in the context of a pilot study, with 30 people having varying degrees of blindness. We also received feedback for improving both the available functionality of our application and the process by which the blind users learn the features of the application. The method of the study involved using standardized questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The evaluation took place after the participants were exposed to the system’s functionality via specialized user-centered training sessions organized around a training version of the application that involves route simulation. The results indicate an overall positive attitude from the users.

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“…Furthermore, contrary to outdoor space navigation, which leverages the GPS infrastructure, indoor space navigation has no adequate solution. This was highlighted from discussions with both Orientation and Mobility specialists as well as BVI individuals on various occasions [ 25 , 26 ]. Simultaneously, there exist several commercial applications that are being used among the BVI communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Sensor Data Fusion Solutions for Blind and Visually Impaired: Research and Commercial Navigation Applications for Indoor and Outdoor Spaces

Theodorou

Tsiligkos

Μηλιώνης

2023

Sensors

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Several assistive technology solutions, targeting the group of Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI), have been proposed in the literature utilizing multi-sensor data fusion techniques. Furthermore, several commercial systems are currently being used in real-life scenarios by BVI individuals. However, given the rate by which new publications are made, the available review studies become quickly outdated. Moreover, there is no comparative study regarding the multi-sensor data fusion techniques between those found in the research literature and those being used in the commercial applications that many BVI individuals trust to complete their everyday activities. The objective of this study is to classify the available multi-sensor data fusion solutions found in the research literature and the commercial applications, conduct a comparative study between the most popular commercial applications (Blindsquare, Lazarillo, Ariadne GPS, Nav by ViaOpta, Seeing Assistant Move) regarding the supported features as well as compare the two most popular ones (Blindsquare and Lazarillo) with the BlindRouteVision application, developed by the authors, from the standpoint of Usability and User Experience (UX) through field testing. The literature review of sensor-fusion solutions highlights the trends of utilizing computer vision and deep learning techniques, the comparison of the commercial applications reveals their features, strengths, and weaknesses while Usability and UX demonstrate that BVI individuals are willing to sacrifice a wealth of features for more reliable navigation.

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Gaining insight for the design, development, deployment and distribution of assistive navigation systems for blind and visually impaired people through a detailed user requirements elicitation

Cited by 12 publications

References 48 publications

WSREB Mechanism: Web Search Results Exploration Mechanism for Blind Users

WSREB Mechanism: Web Search Results Exploration Mechanism for Blind Users

An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on Training

Multi-Sensor Data Fusion Solutions for Blind and Visually Impaired: Research and Commercial Navigation Applications for Indoor and Outdoor Spaces

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