Testing a Shape-Changing Haptic Navigation Device With Vision-Impaired and Sighted Audiences in an Immersive Theater Setting

Abstract

Flatland was an immersive 'in-the-wild' experimental theatre and technology project, undertaken with the goals of developing systems that could assist 'real-world' pedestrian navigation for both vision impaired (VI) and sighted individuals, while also exploring inclusive and equivalent cultural experiences for VI and sighted audiences. A novel shape-changing handheld haptic navigation device, the 'Animotus', was developed. The device has the ability to modify its form in the user's grasp to communicate heading and proximity to navigational targets. Flatland provided a unique opportunity to comparatively study the use of novel navigation devices with a large group of individuals (79 sighted, 15 VI) who were primarily attending a theatre production rather than an experimental study. In this paper we present our findings on comparing the navigation performance (measured in terms of efficiency, average pace and time facing targets) and opinions of VI and sighted users of the Animotus as they negotiated the 112m 2 production environment. Differences in navigation performance was non-significant across VI and sighted individuals and a similar range of opinions on device function and engagement spanned both groups. We believe more structured device familiarization, particularly for VI users, could improve performance and incorrect technology expectations (such as obstacle avoidance capability), which influenced overall opinion. This work is intended to aid the development of future inclusive technologies and cultural experiences.

Transparency in persuasive technology, immersive technology, and online marketing: Facilitating users’ informed decision making and practical implications

“…Using techniques to convey data in a concise, visualized format and thus help lay users understand key information better to enhance transparency A web application was developed with visualization of children's health behavior data to help children understand their health behavior and that of their peers better (Wang et al, 2017); A novel shape changing handheld haptic navigation device, the "Animotus," was developed within an immersive environment to help with "real-world" navigation for both vision-impaired and sighted pedestrians (Spiers et al, 2018). Personalization and User-Centered Design Adopting a user-centered design method to provide personalized solutions and grant autonomy for different target user groups A personalized and human-centered engineering method is required to assign equal weighting to users' profiles and preferences in relation to their business roles (Shahri et al, 2016); The accuracy of AI-based decisions used in technologies or targeted advertising could be improved through users' feedback ( Stumpf et al, 2007, pp.…”

“…Immersive technology combined with multimodal channels to convey information has the potential to help users with their daily activities in certain circumstances. For example, a novel shape-changing handheld haptic navigation device, the "Animotus" was developed within an immersive environment to help with "real-world" navigation for both vision-impaired and sighted pedestrian (Spiers et al, 2018). The form of the device was modifiable in the user's grasp to convey information about heading to and proximity to navigational targets.…”

Hand-Held Haptic Navigation Devices for Actual Walking

“…The same device, now called 'Animotus', was tested in a theater setting [12] with 94 participants (the audience) of whom 15 with a visual impairment. The Animotus guided the participants in complete darkness from zone to zone where they were presented with an audio scene.…”

“…Indoor solutions were quite different from the outdoor devices. In [3]- [6], [12] users with visual impairments participated. Overall, participants reached their goal, but walking speeds were mostly quite low.…”

Smartphone Navigation Support for Blind and Visually Impaired People - A Comprehensive Analysis of Potentials and Opportunities

“…Haptic devices interact with the sense of touch. Vibrotactile feedback from eccentric mass motors has been the modality of choice for the majority of prototype mobile haptic interfaces [51,52]. Haptic feedback can give stimuli to the visually impaired users in various situations during navigation.…”