The Impact of Orientation and Mobility Aids on Wayfinding of Individuals with Blindness: Verbal Description vs. Audio-Tactile Map

Koustriava, Eleni; Papadopoulos, Konstantinos; Koukourikos, Panagiotis; Barouti, Marialena

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-40238-3_55

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Blind user can benefit the use of raised lines that linked between places on the map to learn about directions. Since the information of a place is readily provided on the audio-tactile maps, the learning process is independent and Indonesian J Elec Eng & Comp Sci ISSN: 2502-4752  the user can explore the maps repeatedly which would give them enough time to form the cognitive maps and familiar with the place at the preparation stage before they initiate their wayfinding in reality [24]. The use of audio-tactile maps would help to alleviate the problems associated with the teaching process [25] since the learning of a place can be independent and the mobility instructor can focus on the blind students who needs his or her attention throughout the map learning process.…”

Section: The Use Of Technology To Address the Identified Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wayfinding learning techniques and its challenges: a case study at malaysian association for the blind (MAB)

Hamid

Adnan

Razak

2019

IJEECS

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<span>Navigating safely in the real environment especially in the outdoor setting requires a blind person to be equipped with the spatial knowledge and possess the skills in mobility and orientation. The aims of this study are to investigate the existing wayfinding learning techniques taught to blind people and to identify the challenges during the teaching and learning processes. A two days of observation during a mobility practical session was conducted at Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB). The first objective was to explore the current techniques used by mobility instructor to teach visually impaired students for a wayfinding and second, to identify the challenges faced by the mobility instructor and the visually impaired students in the teaching and learning processes of wayfinding. The study discovered that the major problem faced by the mobility instructor was with the lack of teaching aids to describe a new environment to visually impaired students. This leads to the lack of time that caused the visually impaired students perceived insufficient information which was hard for them to construct the intended cognitive maps. From the findings, this paper concludes by discussing the recommendations primarily on the use of technology in addressing the problems identified in this study.</span>

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Section: The Use Of Technology To Address the Identified Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wayfinding learning techniques and its challenges: a case study at malaysian association for the blind (MAB)

Hamid

Adnan

Razak

2019

IJEECS

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“…The next generation of tactile graphics was audio-tactile representations with the addition of auditory information to the tactile graphics. Audio-tactile maps have been used to examine the ability of individuals with visual impairments to encode space (Koustriava et al, 2016; Papadopoulos et al, 2014, 2017, 2018; Papadopoulos, Barouti, & Koustriava, 2016; Siekierska et al, 2003). Tactile graphics are placed on top of touch-sensitive surfaces such as NOMAD (Parkes, 1988) or IVEO (Gardner et al, 2009) and auditory information is delivered to the user by tapping at a certain spot.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Koustriava and colleagues (2016) investigated the cognitive maps of persons with visual impairments, and they found that audio-tactile maps are more helpful for wayfinding and detection of specific points of interest in a certain region than recorded verbal descriptions. The findings of Papadopoulos, Barouti, and Koustriava (2016) point in the same direction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental information for inclusion in orientation and mobility maps, identified by travelers with blindness: The cases of city centers and neighborhoods/residential areas

Papadopoulos¹,

Charitakis²,

Koustriava

et al. 2020

British Journal of Visual Impairment

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The aim of this study is to investigate the user requirements of individuals with blindness regarding the information to be mapped on audio-tactile maps of city centers and neighborhoods/residential areas. Beyond that specific scope, this study aims at covering a wider research gap. That is, the investigation of the usefulness that individuals with blindness attribute to different spatial information (items) of differentiated environments: city centers and neighborhoods/residential areas. A total of 115 adults with blindness took part in the research. Participants came from four countries: Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and Germany. The researchers listed 222 pieces of information concerning city centers and 226 pieces concerning neighborhoods/residential areas and address them in survey by conducting two respective questionnaires. Participants were asked to evaluate the information regarding the usefulness of the information with regard to safety, location of services, and orientation/wayfinding during movement. The result of the study is the definition of the most useful information that should be included in orientation and mobility (O&M) aids. Thus, the findings of this study will be particularly important for designers of O&M aids, O&M specialists, rehabilitation specialists, and teachers who design and construct O&M aids for their students with blindness.

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“…They have been introduced to overcome a series of limitations tactile maps present, such as the need for extended braille labeling (see Jacobson, 1998, for a review) and the fact that the abundance of information and the complexity of graphics require greater memory load (Ungar et al, 1993). Prerecorded or text-to-speech synthesis (Fellbaum & Kouroupetroglou, 2008), as well as audio cues, can be used to provide a multimodal experience with audio-tactile maps and the use of a touchpad device, for instance, the Talking Tactile Tablet device (Landau & Gourgey, 2001; Landau & Wells, 2003) or NOMAD (Parkes, 1988), Talking Tactile Maps (Blenkhorn & Evans, 1994), and IVEO (Koustriava et al, 2016; Papadopoulos et al, 2014; Papadopoulos Koustriava, & Barouti, 2017; Papadopoulos et al, 2018). Such audio-tactile maps have proved to improve map readability, accessibility (Zeng & Weber, 2011), and increase user satisfaction and route understanding (Bringhammar et al, 1997; Klatzky & Lederman, 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results of a study by Brock et al (2015) found that replacing a classical tactile map with an audio-tactile map significantly improved the efficiency and satisfaction of users with blindness. According to Koustriava and her colleagues (2016), the use of an audio-tactile map by individuals with visual impairments can lead to the development of a more effective cognitive route than a verbal description.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Information Required by Individuals with Visual Impairments Who Use Orientation and Mobility Aids to Navigate Campuses

Papadopoulos

Charitakis

Koustriava

et al. 2020

Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness

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Introduction: This study investigated the user requirements of individuals with visual impairments regarding the information to be included in orientation and mobility (O&M) aids in order for optimally useful audio-tactile maps of campuses to be developed. In addition, this study aimed at investigating the importance (usefulness) that individuals with visual impairments attribute to environmental information of campuses. Methods: The researchers listed 213 pieces of environmental information concerning campuses and address them in survey by conducting a respective questionnaire. Participants were asked to evaluate the information, regarding the importance or usefulness of the information in regard to safety, location of services, and orientation and wayfinding during movement. Through convenience sampling 115 adults (aged from 18 to 64 years) with visual impairments from four countries (Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and Germany) took part in the research. Results: Pieces of environmental information, sorted in descending order starting with the most useful ones, have been listed. A repeated measures analysis of variance yielded a significant main effect for the type of information (safety, location of services, and wayfinding and orientation): F(2, 228) = 70.868, p < .001. Discussion: This study resulted in the specification of the most significant or useful information that should be included in O&M aids of campuses for individuals with visual impairments. Implications for practitioners: The results of this study will hold the interest of developers of O&M aids, O&M practitioners, rehabilitation teachers, and instructors who design and construct O&M aids. Moreover, the context for appropriately designed tactile or audio-tactile maps for campuses is provided, and campuses around the world could rely on this study for the creation of a valuable accessibility aid.

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The Impact of Orientation and Mobility Aids on Wayfinding of Individuals with Blindness: Verbal Description vs. Audio-Tactile Map

Cited by 11 publications

References 29 publications

Wayfinding learning techniques and its challenges: a case study at malaysian association for the blind (MAB)

Wayfinding learning techniques and its challenges: a case study at malaysian association for the blind (MAB)

Environmental information for inclusion in orientation and mobility maps, identified by travelers with blindness: The cases of city centers and neighborhoods/residential areas

Environmental Information Required by Individuals with Visual Impairments Who Use Orientation and Mobility Aids to Navigate Campuses

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