ABSTRACT

This paper describes the interface and testing of an indoor navigation app – ASSIST – that guides blind & visually impaired (BVI) individuals through an indoor environment with high accuracy while augmenting their understanding of the surrounding environment. ASSIST features personalized interfaces by considering the unique experiences that BVI individuals have in indoor wayfinding and offers multiple levels of multimodal feedback. After an overview of the technical approach and implementation of the first prototype of the ASSIST system, the results of two pilot studies performed with BVI individuals are presented – a performance study to collect data on mobility (walking speed, collisions, and navigation errors) while using the app, and a usability study to collect user evaluation data on the perceived helpfulness, safety, ease-of-use, and overall experience while using the app. Our studies show that ASSIST is useful in providing users with navigational guidance, improving their efficiency and (more significantly) their safety and accuracy in wayfinding indoors. Findings and user feedback from the studies confirm some of the previous results, while also providing some new insights into the creation of such an app, including the use of customized user interfaces and expanding the types of information provided.

摘要

本文介绍了室内导航应用程序 ASSIST 的界面和测试，该应用程序可以高精度地引导盲人和视障人士 (BVI) 通过室内环境，同时增强他们对周围环境的了解。ASSIST 通过考虑 BVI 个人在室内寻路方面的独特体验来提供个性化界面，并提供多层次的多模式反馈。在概述了 ASSIST 系统的第一个原型的技术方法和实施之后，介绍了与 BVI 个人进行的两项试点研究的结果——一项收集移动性数据（步行速度、碰撞和导航错误）的性能研究，同时使用该应用程序，并进行可用性研究以收集有关感知有用性、安全性、易用性的用户评估数据，以及使用该应用程序时的整体体验。我们的研究表明，ASSIST 在为用户提供导航指导、提高他们的效率以及（更重要的是）他们在室内寻路时的​​安全性和准确性方面很有用。研究结果和用户反馈证实了之前的一些结果，同时也为创建此类应用程序提供了一些新的见解，包括使用定制的用户界面和扩展所提供的信息类型。