Testing a Shape-Changing Haptic Navigation Device With Vision-Impaired and Sighted Audiences in an Immersive Theater Setting

Flatland was an immersive “in-the-wild” experimental theater and technology project, undertaken with the goal of developing systems that could assist “real-world” pedestrian navigation for both vision-impaired (VI) and sighted individuals, while also exploring inclusive and equivalent cultural experiences for VI and sighted audiences. A novel shape-changing handheld haptic navigation device, the “Animotus,” was developed. The device has the ability to modify its form in the user's grasp to communicate heading and proximity to navigational targets. Flatland provided a unique opportunity to comparatively study the use of novel navigation devices with a large group of individuals (79 sighted, 15 VI) who were primarily attending a theater production rather than an experimental study. In this paper, we present our findings on comparing the navigation performance (measured in terms of efficiency, average pace, and time facing targets) and opinions of VI and sighted users of the Animotus as they negotiated the 112 m2 production environment. Differences in navigation performance were nonsignificant across VI and sighted individuals and a similar range of opinions on device function and engagement spanned both groups. We believe more structured device familiarization, particularly for VI users, could improve performance and incorrect technology expectations (such as obstacle avoidance capability), which influenced overall opinion. This paper is intended to aid the development of future inclusive technologies and cultural experiences

The S-BAN: insights into the perception of shape-changing haptic interfaces via virtual pedestrian navigation

Screen-based pedestrian navigation assistance can be distracting or inaccessible to users. Shape-changing haptic interfaces can overcome these concerns. The S-BAN is a new handheld haptic interface that utilizes a parallel kinematic structure to deliver 2-DOF spatial information over a continuous workspace, with a form factor suited to integration with other travel aids. The ability to pivot, extend and retract its body opens possibilities and questions around spatial data representation. We present a static study to understand user perception of absolute pose and relative motion for two spatial mappings, showing highest sensitivity to relative motions in the cardinal directions. We then present an embodied navigation experiment in virtual reality. User motion efficiency when guided by the S-BAN was statistically equivalent to using a vision-based tool (a smartphone proxy). Although haptic trials were slower than visual trials, participants’ heads were more elevated with the S-BAN, allowing greater visual focus on the environment