Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mobility Technologies for Blind, Partially Sighted and Deafblind People: Design Issues

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Mobility of Visually Impaired People

Abstract

The chapter provides an overview of the factors to be considered in the design of travel aids which meet the needs of blind, visually impaired and deafblind people. The chapter consists of two main parts. The first part comprises an introduction, brief discussions of the long cane as a successful travel aid (with limitations) and how blind people travel; a categorisation of travel aids and an overview of the three main phases of travel aid development. The second part considers the specifics of good design practice. The topics covered include specific principles of good design practice, app design, end-user involvement and particular features, including functionality, the interface, sensors, privacy and context awareness.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Abowd GD, Dey AK (2000) Towards a better understanding of context and context-awareness. In: Proceedings of CHI workshop on the what, who, where, when and how of context-awareness, The Hague, Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  2. Amemiya T, Yamashita J, Hirota K, Hirose M (2004). Virtual leading blocks for the deaf-blind: a real-time way-finder by verbal-nonverbal hybrid interface and high-density RFID tag space. In: Virtual Reality, 2004. Proceedings. IEEE, pp 165–287

    Google Scholar 

  3. Andò B (2003) Electronic sensory systems for the visually impaired. Instrum Meas Mag IEEE 6(2):62–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Arditi A, Tian Y (2013) User interface preferences in the design of a camera-based navigation and wayfinding aid. J Visual Impair Blind 107(2):18–129

    Google Scholar 

  5. Baldauf, Dustdar MS, Rosenberg F (2007) A survey on context-aware systems. Int J Ad Hoc and Ubiquit Comput 7(4):263–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Batavia AI, Hammer GS (1990) Toward the development of consumer-based criteria for the evaluation of assistive devices. J Rehabil Res Dev 27(4):425–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Benjamin JM, Ali NA, Schepis AF (1973) A laser cane for the blind. Proc San Diego Biomed Symp 12:53–57

    Google Scholar 

  8. Blasch BB, Long RG, Griffin-Shirley N (1989) National evaluation of electronic travel aids for blind and visually impaired individuals: implications for design, RESNA 12th annual conference. Louisiana, New Orleans, pp 133–134

    Google Scholar 

  9. Bourbakis N (2008) Sensing surrounding 3-D space for navigation of the blind. Eng Med Biol Mag IEEE 27(1):49–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Brabyn J, Crandall W, Gerrey W (1993) Talking signs: a remote signage, solution for the blind, visually impaired and reading disabled. In: Annual international conference of the IEEE engineering in medicine and biology society, pp 1309–1310

    Google Scholar 

  11. Bradley N, Dunlop M (2008) Navigation AT: context-aware computing. In: Hersh MA, Johnson MA (eds) Assistive technology for visually impaired and blind people, Springer, Berlin, pp 231–260. ISBN 978-1-84628-866-1

    Google Scholar 

  12. BrailleNote GPS (undated) http://store.humanware.com/hus/braillenote-gps-software-and-receiver-package.html. Accessed 7 June 2016

  13. Brooks NA, Hoyer, EA (1989) Consumer evaluation of assistive devices. In: Proceedings of the 12th annual conference of the rehabilitation engineering society of North America, pp 358–359

    Google Scholar 

  14. Bruce I, McKennell AC, Walker EC (1991) Blind and partially sighted adults in Britain: the RNIB survey, Vol. 1. HM Stationery Office, UK, p 120

    Google Scholar 

  15. Buurman RD (1997) User-centred design of smart products. Ergonomics 40(10):1159–1169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. CEN (2003) [internet] CEN workshop agreement CWA 14661. Guidelines to standardisers of ICT products and services in the CEN ICT domain. [cited 2010 Aug 12]. Available from: ftp://cenftp1.cenorm.be/PUBLIC/CWAs/e-Europe/DFA/cwa14661-00-2003-Feb.pdf

  17. Chen H (2004) An intelligent broker architecture for pervasive context-aware systems. PhD Thesis, University of Maryland, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  18. Chen HE, Lin YY, Chen CH, Wang I (2015) BlindNavi: a navigation app for the visually impaired smartphone user. In: Proceedings of the 33rd annual ACM conference extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems, pp 19–24

    Google Scholar 

  19. Clark-Carter DD, Heyes AD, Howarth CI (1986) The efficiency and walking speed of visually impaired people. Ergonomics 29(6):779–789

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. De Choudhury M, Feldman M, Amer-Yahia S, Golbandi N, Lempel R, Yu C (2010) Automatic construction of travel itineraries using social breadcrumbs. In: Proceedings of the 21st ACM conference on hypertext and hypermedia, ACM Press, New York, pp 35–44

    Google Scholar 

  21. Dem. UP (1994) Demographics update. J Vis Impairment Blindness, 88(part 2(1)):4–5

    Google Scholar 

  22. Dey AK, Abowd GD, Salber D (2001) A conceptual framework and a toolkit for supporting the rapid prototyping of context-aware applications. Hum Comput Interact 16(2):97–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Dvir D, Raz T, Shenhar AJ (2003) An empirical analysis of the relationship between project planning and project success. Int J Project Manage 21:82–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Farcy R (2006) Electronic travel aids and electronic orientation aids for blind people: technical, rehabilitation and everyday life points of vie. In: CVHI 2006. Kufstein, Austria

    Google Scholar 

  25. Farmer LW, Smith DL (1997) Adaptive technology. In: Blasch BB, Wiener WR, Welsh RL (eds) Foundations of orientation and mobility, 2nd Edn. pp 231–259

    Google Scholar 

  26. GD (2006) www.guidedogs.com.au, website for Guide Dogs New South Wales, Australia

  27. GDP (2006) www.gdp-research.com.au

  28. Gaunet F, Briffault X (2005) Exploring the functional specifications of a localized wayfinding verbal aid for blind pedestrians: Simple and structured urban areas. Hum Comput Interact 20(3):267–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Gitlin LN (1995) Why older people accept or reject assistive technology. Generations 19(1):41–46

    Google Scholar 

  30. Giudice NA, Legge GE (2008) Blind navigation and the role of technology. In: Engineering handbook of smart technology for aging, disability, and independence, pp 479–500

    Google Scholar 

  31. Golledge RG (1993) Geography and the disabled: a survey with special reference to vision impaired and blind populations. In: Transactions of the institute of British geographers, pp 63–85

    Google Scholar 

  32. Gould JD, Lewis C (1985) Designing for usability: key principles and what designers think. Commun ACM 28:300–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Gurkan GK, Akan A (2013) VibroCap: a mobility supporting hat for blind. In: Electrical and electronics engineering (ELECO), 2013 8th international conference on, pp 367–370

    Google Scholar 

  34. Harrison R, Flood D, Duce D (2013) Usability of mobile applications: literature review and rationale for a new usability model. J Interact Sci 1(1):1–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Hersh MA (2009) Designing assistive technology to support independent travel for blind and visually impaired people CVHI’09. Wrocław, Poland

    Google Scholar 

  36. Hersh MA (2014) Deafblind people stigma and the use of communication and mobility assistive devices. Technol Disabil 25(4):245–261

    Google Scholar 

  37. Hersh MA (2015) Cane use and late onset visual impairment. Technol Disabil 27(3):103–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Hersh MA, Johnson MA (2006) Accessibility of PDF documents. AXMEDIS, Leeds

    Google Scholar 

  39. Hersh MA, Johnson MA (2010) A robotic guide for blind people part 1: a multi-national survey of the attitudes, requirements and preferences of potential end-users. Appl Bion Biomech 7(4):277–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Hersh MA, Johnson MA (2012) A robotic guide for blind people part 2. Appl Bion Biomech 9:29–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Hersh MA (2009b) The application of information and other technologies to improve the mobility of blind, visually impaired and deafblind people, travel health informatics and telehealth. In: Mihalaş G et. al. (eds) Selected papers from EFMI special topic conference, Antalya, Turkey, Victor Babes University Publishing House, pp 11–24

    Google Scholar 

  42. Hersh MA (2010) The design and evaluation of assistive technology products and devices part 1: design. Int Encycl Rehabil. Available online: http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/309/

  43. Hersh MA (2011) Participative research with diverse end-user groups: multi-language, multi-country blind and visually impaired people. In: 18th IFAC congress, Milan, Italy

    Google Scholar 

  44. Hersh MA (2016) Travel and information processing by blind people: a new three-component model. Biomed Eng, University of Glasgow Report, http://web.eng.gla.ac.uk/assistive/pages/publications.php

  45. Hersh MA, Johnson MA (eds) (2008) Mobility: an overview. In: Assistive technology for visually impaired and blind people, Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  46. Heyes A (1993) Sonic pathfinder training manual. Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia, Kew, Australia

    Google Scholar 

  47. Hill EW, Rieser JJ, Hill MM, Hill M (1993) How persons with visual impairments explore novel spaces: strategies of good and poor performers. J Vis Impair Blind 87(8)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Holland S, Morse DR, Gedenryd H (2002) AudioGPS: spatial audio navigation with a minimal attention interface. Pers Ubiquit Comput 6(4):253–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Hoyle B, Dodds S (2006) The ultracane® mobility aid at work training programmes to case studies. CVHI, Kufstein, Austria

    Google Scholar 

  50. Hoyle B, Waters D (2008) Mobility at: the batcane (ultracane). In: Hersh MA, Johnson MA (eds) Assistive technology for visually impaired and blind people, Springer, London, pp 209–229

    Google Scholar 

  51. IDC (2015) Smartphone OS market share, 2015 Q2. http://www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-os-market-share.jsp, Accessed 7.6.2–16

  52. Jacobson W (1979) Complementary travel aids for the blind person: the sonic guide used with a dog guide. J Vis Impair Blind 73(1):10–12

    Google Scholar 

  53. Jacobson RD, Kitchin R (1997) GIS and people with visual impairments or blindness: Exploring the potential for education, orientation, and navigation. Trans GIS 2(4):315–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Joorabchi ME, Mesbah A, Kruchten P (2013) Real challenges in mobile app development. In: Empirical software engineering and measurement, 2013 ACM/IEEE international symposium on, pp 15–24

    Google Scholar 

  55. Kalloniatis C, Kavakli E, Gritzalis S (2008) Addressing privacy requirements in system design: the PriS method. Requirements Eng 13(3):241–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Kane SK, Jayant C, Wobbrock JO, Ladner RE (2009). Freedom to roam: a study of mobile device adoption and accessibility for people with visual and motor disabilities. In: Proceedings of the 11th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on computers and accessibility, pp 115–122

    Google Scholar 

  57. Kannan B, Kothari N, Gnegy C, Gedaway H, Dias MF, Dias MB (2014) Localization, route planning, and smartphone interface for indoor navigation. In: Cooperative robots and sensor networks, Springer, Berlin, pp 39–59

    Google Scholar 

  58. Katz BF, Kammoun S, Parseihian G, Gutierrez O, Brilhault A, Auvray M, Jouffrais C (2012) NAVIG: augmented reality guidance system for the visually impaired. Virtual Reality 16(4):253–269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Kay L (1974) A sonar aid to enhance spatial perception of the blind: Engineering design and evaluation. Radio Electron Eng 44(11):605–627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Kay L (1980) The sonic guide, long cane and dog guide: their compatibility. J Vis Impair Blind 75(7):277–280

    Google Scholar 

  61. Kendell C, Lemaire ED (2009) Effect of mobility devices on orientation sensors that contain magnetometers. J Rehabil Res Dev 46(7):957–962

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Kukulska-Hulme A (2007) Mobile usability in educational contexts: what have we learnt! Int Rev Res Open Distance Learn 8(2)

    Google Scholar 

  63. Kumar A, Patra R, Manjunatha M, Mukhopadhyay J, Majumdar AK (2011) An electronic travel aid for navigation of visually impaired persons. In: Communication systems and networks (COMSNETS), 2011 third international conference on, pp 1–5

    Google Scholar 

  64. Leduc-Mills B, Profita H, Bharadwaj S, Cromer P (2013) ioCane: a smart-phone and sensor-augmented mobility aid for the blind

    Google Scholar 

  65. Lin Q, Han Y (2014) A context-aware-based audio guidance system for blind people using a multimodal profile model. Sensors 14(10):18670–18700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Marston J, Barlow J, Bentzen B, Brabyn J, Gilden D, Miele J, Myer L, Scott A, Simon H (2009) Considerations in designing research to evaluate wayfinding. In: CVHI 2009, Wroclaw, Poland

    Google Scholar 

  67. McGorry S (2000) Measurement in a cross-cultural environment: survey translation issues. Qual Mark Res Int J 3(2):74–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Mims III FM (1972) Eyeglass mounted mobility aid. J Am Optom Asso 673–676

    Google Scholar 

  69. Mishra A, Jain A, Pamecha N (2014) Smart travel alarm–an iOS app on sencha 2.2. Int J Eng Manage Sci 1(7)

    Google Scholar 

  70. NR (2006) www.nurion.net, website of Nurion-Raycal, Station Square Building 2, Suite B, Paoli, PA 1930I, USA

  71. Nayebi F, Desharnais JM, Abran A (2012) The state of the art of mobile application usability evaluation. In: CCECE, pp 1–4

    Google Scholar 

  72. Parette HP, Huer MB, Scherer M (2004) Effects of acculturation on assistive technology service delivery. J Spec Ed Tech 19(2):31–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. Park N (2011) Implementation of terminal middleware platform for mobile RFID computing. Int J Ad Hoc Ubiquitous Comput 8(4):205–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Park N (2010) Security scheme for managing a large quantity of individual information in RFID environment. In: Information computing and applications. Springer, Berlin, pp 72–79

    Google Scholar 

  75. Pascolini D, Mariotti SP (2011) Global estimates of visual impairment: 2010. Br J Ophthalmol: bjophthalmol-2011

    Google Scholar 

  76. Patel I, Turano KA, Broman AT, Bandeen-Roche K, Munoz B, West SK (2006) Measures of visual function and percentage of preferred walking speed in older adults: the salisbury eye evaluation project. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 47(1):65–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Phillips B, Zhao H (1993) Predictors of assistive technology abandonment. Assistive Technol 5(1):36–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. Pissaloux E (2013) Visually impaired mobility and ICT supports. In: IEEE signal processing: algorithms, architectures, arrangements, and applications (SPA). ISSN 2326–0262

    Google Scholar 

  79. Pissaloux E, Velazquez R, Hersh M, Uzan G (2016) Towards a cognitive model of human mobility: an investigation of tactile perception for use in mobility devices. J Navig (in press)

    Google Scholar 

  80. Raento M, Oulasvirta A, Petit R, Toivonen H (2005) ContextPhone: a prototyping platform for context-aware mobile applications. Pervasive Comput IEEE 4(2):51–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  81. Rieback MR, Crispo B, Tanenbaum AS (2005). RFID guardian: a battery-powered mobile device for RFID privacy management. In: Information security and privacy, Springer, Berlin, pp 184–194

    Google Scholar 

  82. Rodgers M, Emerson R (2005) Materials testing in long cane design: sensitivity, flexibility, and transmission of vibration. J Vis Impair Blind 99(11):696–706

    Google Scholar 

  83. Roentgen UR, Gelderblom GJ, Soede M, de Witte LP (2008) Inventory of electronic mobility aids for persons with visual impairments: a literature review. J Vis Impair Blind 102(11):702

    Google Scholar 

  84. Rudolph (undated) Hybrid mobile apps: providing a native experience with web technologies. https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/10/providing-a-native-experience-with-web-technologies/, Accessed 19 May 2016

  85. Russell L (1966) Travel Pathsounder and evaluation, In Dutton R (Ed) In: Proceedings conference on the evaluation of sensory devices for the blind, St. Dunstan’s, London, pp 293–297

    Google Scholar 

  86. Salber D, Dey AK, Abowd GD (1999) The context toolkit: aiding the development of context-enabled applications In: Proceedings of CHI’99, ACM Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  87. Scherer MJ (2002) Editorial, the change in emphasis from people to person. Introduction to the special issue on assistive technology. Disabil Rehabil 24:1–4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  88. Skulimowski P, Strumillo P (2007) Obstacle localization in 3D scenes from stereoscopic sequences. In: signal processing conference, 2007 15th European, pp 2095–2099

    Google Scholar 

  89. Strumillo P (2010) Electronic interfaces aiding the visually impaired in environmental access, mobility and navigation. In: Human system interactions (HSI), 2010 3rd conference on, pp 17–24

    Google Scholar 

  90. Terlau T (2008) ‘K’ sonar curriculum handbook. American Printing House for the Blind, Inc., USA

    Google Scholar 

  91. UC (2006) UltraCaneTM. www.soundforesight.co.uk/, Sound Foresight Ltd, UK

  92. Ulrich I, Borenstein J (2001) The GuideCane-applying mobile robot technologies to assist the visually impaired. IEEE Trans Syst Man Cybern Part A 31(2):131–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  93. Walraven J (1986) Ergonomics, mechanics and functional aspects of the long cane. In: Development of electronic aids for the visually impaired, Springer, Netherlands, pp 275–286

    Google Scholar 

  94. Ward C (1990) Design for all: consumer needs assessment project year 2. Results of the second year of a five year study, 45p

    Google Scholar 

  95. Winograd T (2001) Architectures for context. Hum Comput Interact J 16(2):401–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  96. Yusro M, et al. (2013) SEES: concept and design of a smart environment explorer stick. In: IEEE HSI 2013

    Google Scholar 

  97. Zhang D, Adipat B (2005) Challenges, methodologies, and issues in the usability testing of mobile applications. Int J Hum Comput Interact 18(3):293–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomedical Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8LT, Scotland, UK

    M. A. Hersh

Authors
  1. M. A. Hersh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. A. Hersh .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Rouen Normandie, Rouen, France

    Edwige Pissaloux

  2. Universidad Panamericana, Aguascalientes, Mexico

    Ramiro Velazquez

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hersh, M.A. (2018). Mobility Technologies for Blind, Partially Sighted and Deafblind People: Design Issues. In: Pissaloux, E., Velazquez, R. (eds) Mobility of Visually Impaired People. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54446-5_13

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54446-5_13

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-54444-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-54446-5

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation