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International Conference on Human Factors in Computing and Informatics

SouthCHI 2013: Human Factors in Computing and Informatics pp 284–295Cite as

Route Descriptions in Advance and Turn-by-Turn Instructions - Usability Evaluation of a Navigational System for Visually Impaired and Blind People in Public Transport

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Part of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (LNPSE,volume 7946)

Abstract

Wayfinding in public transport is still a great challenge for visually impaired and blind people. The presented evaluation study was conducted in the context of the research project Ways4All, which aims to develop an accessible system to facilitate the use of public transport for visually impaired and blind people. The study aims to assess the indoor and outdoor navigation modules of the mobile application developed in Ways4All. In a field study with 16 participants usability and accessibility issues of the system were identified. Furthermore it was investigated whether visually impaired and blind people wish to have a route description in advance, besides the turn-by-turn instructions provided by the system. The data analysis shows that the majority of visually impaired and blind people like to have the possibility to process a route description before they actually navigate. On the basis of the user feedback and the occurring issues, recommendations for the system design were created.

Keywords

  • Usability evaluation
  • accessibility
  • visually impaired
  • public transport
  • outdoor navigation
  • indoor navigation

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  • DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-39062-3_18
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Authors and Affiliations

  1. FH Joanneum, University of Applied Sciences, Kapfenberg, Austria

    Elke Mattheiss & Elmar Krajnc

Authors
  1. Elke Mattheiss
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  2. Elmar Krajnc
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation (IMI), Medical University Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 2/V, 8036, Graz, Austria

    Andreas Holzinger

  2. Human-Computer Interaction Center, RWTH Aachen University, Theaterplatz 14, 52056, Aachen, Germany

    Martina Ziefle

  3. Institute of Informatics Systems, Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt, Universitätsstrasse 65-67, 9020, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Martin Hitz

  4. Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia

    Matjaž Debevc

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Mattheiss, E., Krajnc, E. (2013). Route Descriptions in Advance and Turn-by-Turn Instructions - Usability Evaluation of a Navigational System for Visually Impaired and Blind People in Public Transport. In: Holzinger, A., Ziefle, M., Hitz, M., Debevc, M. (eds) Human Factors in Computing and Informatics. SouthCHI 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7946. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39062-3_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39062-3_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-39061-6

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