This paper reports the development of a specialized teleguidance-based navigation assistance system for the blind and the visually impaired. We present findings from a usability and user experience study conducted with 11 blind and visually impaired participants and a sighted caretaker. Participants sent live video feed of their field of view to the remote caretaker's terminal from a smartphone camera attached to their chest. The caretaker used this video feed to guide them through indoor and outdoor navigation scenarios using a combination of haptic and voice-based communication. Haptic feedback was provided through vibrating actuators installed in the grip of a Smart Cane. Two haptic methods for directional guidance were tested: (1) two vibrating actuators to guide left and right movement and (2) a single vibrating actuator with differentiating vibration patterns for the same purpose. Users feedback was collected using a meCUE 2.0 standardized questionnaire, interviews, and group discussions. Participants' perceptions toward the proposed navigation assistance system were positive. Blind participants preferred vibrational guidance with two actuators, while partially blind participants preferred the single actuator method. Familiarity with cane use and age were important factors in the choice of haptic methods by both blind and partially blind users. It was found that smartphone camera provided sufficient field of view for remote assistance; position and angle are nonetheless important considerations. Ultimately, more research is needed to confirm our preliminary findings. We also present an expanded evaluation model developed to carry out further research on assistive systems.

中文翻译：

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基于 Teleguidance 的远程导航帮助视障人士和盲人 - 可用性和用户体验。

本文报告了针对盲人和视障人士的基于远程导航的专业导航辅助系统的开发。我们展示了一项可用性和用户体验研究的结果，该研究由 11 名盲人和视力受损的参与者以及一名视力正常的看护人进行。参与者通过连接在胸前的智能手机摄像头将他们视野的实时视频发送到远程看守人的终端。管理员使用此视频馈送，结合触觉和语音通信，引导他们完成室内和室外导航场景。触觉反馈是通过安装在智能手杖手柄中的振动致动器提供的。测试了两种用于定向引导的触觉方法：(1) 两个振动致动器来引导左右移动；(2) 一个具有不同振动模式的振动致动器，用于相同的目的。使用 meCUE 2.0 标准化问卷、访谈和小组讨论收集用户反馈。参与者对拟议的导航辅助系统的看法是积极的。盲人参与者更喜欢使用两个执行器的振动引导，而部分盲人参与者更喜欢单个执行器方法。对手杖使用的熟悉程度和年龄是盲人和半盲用户选择触觉方法的重要因素。结果发现，智能手机摄像头为远程协助提供了足够的视野；位置和角度仍然是重要的考虑因素。最终，需要更多的研究来证实我们的初步发现。我们还提出了一个扩展的评估模型，用于对辅助系统进行进一步的研究。