Towards identifying and classifying navigation strategies among individuals with diverse disabilities

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a study examining navigation practices of individuals with disabilities-including people with visual, mobility, and cognitive disabilities, as well as older adults-towards identifying and classifying the common features they utilize in unfamiliar environments. Analysis of initial data reveals previously-undocumented commonalities and departures amongst users from different populations. For example, we found that natural light sources are an important navigation cues for not only blind and low vision individuals, but also for older adults and mobility-impaired individuals. This suggests novel design features for assistive apps to better support navigating indoors in absence of windows. Our work aims to inform design of more universally-usable navigation solutions that address collective needs of a wide range of users.