675 research outputs found
Modeling Expertise in Assistive Navigation Interfaces for Blind People
Evaluating the impact of expertise and route knowledge on task performance can guide the design of intelligent and adaptive navigation interfaces. Expertise has been relatively unexplored in the context of assistive indoor navigation interfaces for blind people. To quantify the complex relationship between the user's walking patterns, route learning, and adaptation to the interface, we conducted a study with 8 blind participants. The participants repeated a set of navigation tasks while using a smartphone-based turn-by-turn navigation guidance app. The results demonstrate the gradual evolution of user skill and knowledge throughout the route repetitions, significantly impacting the task completion time. In addition to the exploratory analysis, we take a step towards tailoring the navigation interface to the user's needs by proposing a personalized recurrent neural net work-based behavior model for expertise level classification
Airport Accessibility and Navigation Assistance for People with Visual Impairments
People with visual impairments often have to rely on the assistance of sighted guides in airports, which prevents them from having an independent travel experience. In order to learn about their perspectives on current airport accessibility, we conducted two focus groups that discussed their needs and experiences in-depth, as well as the potential role of assistive technologies. We found that independent navigation is a main challenge and severely impacts their overall experience. As a result, we equipped an airport with a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon-based navigation system and performed a real-world study where users navigated routes relevant for their travel experience. We found that despite the challenging environment participants were able to complete their itinerary independently, presenting none to few navigation errors and reasonable timings. This study presents the first systematic evaluation posing BLE technology as a strong approach to increase the independence of visually impaired people in airports
Accessibility of Health Data Representations for Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for Design
Health data of consumer off-the-shelf wearable devices is often conveyed to users through visual data representations and analyses. However, this is not always accessible to people with disabilities or older people due to low vision, cognitive impairments or literacy issues. Due to trade-offs between aesthetics predominance or information overload, real-time user feedback may not be conveyed easily from sensor devices through visual cues like graphs and texts. These difficulties may hinder critical data understanding. Additional auditory and tactile feedback can also provide immediate and accessible cues from these wearable devices, but it is necessary to understand existing data representation limitations initially. To avoid higher cognitive and visual overload, auditory and haptic cues can be designed to complement, replace or reinforce visual cues. In this paper, we outline the challenges in existing data representation and the necessary evidence to enhance the accessibility of health information from personal sensing devices used to monitor health parameters such as blood pressure, sleep, activity, heart rate and more. By creating innovative and inclusive user feedback, users will likely want to engage and interact with new devices and their own data
Understanding the relationship between signage and mobile map for indoor wayfinding
Wayfinding, a fundamental task in daily life, becomes more complicated and difficult with greater development of a society. People can become lost and frustrated by being disoriented in complex built environments.
This study investigates the effect of combining a physical wayfinding system with a digital device on users\u27 wayfinding performance in a building with architectural complexity. Through exploring the combined use of signage and the Google Indoor Map, the study provides information on their interactivity, effectiveness and reliability for use in a wayfinding system that may increase understanding the design of well-functioning wayfinding systems.
Twenty participants ranging widely in age were divided into four groups, which performed under different combination of four variables: existing signage, newly-designed prototype signage, and combination of the Google Indoor Map with the two signage systems. The task was to find three given destinations: Bookends Café, Tier 5 and CELT.
When video recordings of the participants\u27 wayfinding behavior during the three tasks were reviewed and the post-survey after the task was analyzed, the limitations of using the Google Indoor Map as an interactive wayfinding aid were revealed and the significant role of physical sign system was reinforced. The study discussed these findings and suggested future directions for the combined use of physical signage systems with digital aids to improve the quality of the wayfinding experience for users
Integrating Haptic Feedback into Mobile Location Based Services
Haptics is a feedback technology that takes advantage of the human sense of touch by
applying forces, vibrations, and/or motions to a haptic-enabled device such as a mobile
phone. Historically, human-computer interaction has been visual - text and images on
the screen. Haptic feedback can be an important additional method especially in Mobile
Location Based Services such as knowledge discovery, pedestrian navigation and notification
systems. A knowledge discovery system called the Haptic GeoWand is a low
interaction system that allows users to query geo-tagged data around them by using
a point-and-scan technique with their mobile device. Haptic Pedestrian is a navigation
system for walkers. Four prototypes have been developed classified according to
the user’s guidance requirements, the user type (based on spatial skills), and overall
system complexity. Haptic Transit is a notification system that provides spatial information
to the users of public transport. In all these systems, haptic feedback is used
to convey information about location, orientation, density and distance by use of the
vibration alarm with varying frequencies and patterns to help understand the physical
environment. Trials elicited positive responses from the users who see benefit in being
provided with a “heads up” approach to mobile navigation. Results from a memory recall
test show that the users of haptic feedback for navigation had better memory recall
of the region traversed than the users of landmark images. Haptics integrated into a
multi-modal navigation system provides more usable, less distracting but more effective
interaction than conventional systems. Enhancements to the current work could include
integration of contextual information, detailed large-scale user trials and the exploration
of using haptics within confined indoor spaces
The use of interactive communication technologies for collaborative E-mentoring
This document investigates COVID-19’s impact on the education system by gathering data on
how interactive digital technologies mitigated such disruption. Moreover, the study also
analyses how and if education’s approaches were modified during the pandemic and what
issue(s) arose in that process. The procedures consisted of the analysis of evidence retrieved
from three surveys delivered to a broader group of teachers, students, and parents (N=215)
crossed with an examination of a set of 5-week longitudinal interviews (30) with three
stakeholder groups - teachers, students, and parents (N=6). Results of the analysis are used to
derive a set of important design implications that: (1) highlights shortcomings of the distance
learning strategies used during COVID-19 and how they can be mitigated; (2) empowers
teachers, students and parents with innovative pedagogical approaches that can be fostered by
interactive digital technologies that are optimized for distance learning; (3) promotes
positive learning experiences supported with scientific evidence. The interactive system’s
design derived from a collaborative reflection expressed on the stakeholders’ daily needs while
teaching and learning during the unpredictable circumstances created by the pandemic. The
OWL CLUB mobile app system seeks to curate the knowledge exchange in a more humane
and positive digital experience among an education community. This application also allows
the creation and growth of a space that encourages new genuine connections in a digital
learning environment for students, with the pursuit of knowledge as their main objective.Este documento investiga o impacto do COVID-19 no sistema educacional, reunindo dados sobre
como as tecnologias digitais interativas mitigaram tal disrupção. Além disso, o estudo também analisa
como e se as abordagens educativas foram modificadas durante a pandemia e qual ou quais as questões
que surgiram nesse processo. Os procedimentos consistiram na análise de evidências obtidas através
de três questionários feitos a um grupo mais amplo de professores, alunos e pais (N = 215) cruzadas
com uma análise de um conjunto de entrevistas longitudinais de 5 semanas (30) com três grupos de
atores - professores, alunos e pais (N = 6). Os resultados da análise são usados para obter um conjunto
de importantes implicações de design que: (1) destacam as deficiĂŞncias das estratĂ©gias de ensino Ă
distância usadas durante o COVID-19 e como elas podem ser mitigadas; (2) capacita professores,
alunos e pais com abordagens pedagĂłgicas inovadoras que podem ser promovidas por tecnologias
digitais interativas, otimizadas para o ensino à distância; (3) promove experiências de aprendizagem
positivas apoiadas em evidĂŞncias cientĂficas. A criação do sistema interativo deriva de uma reflexĂŁo
colaborativa expressa sobre as necessidades diárias das partes interessadas durante o ensino e a
aprendizagem durante as circunstâncias imprevisĂveis criadas pela pandemia. O sistema de aplicativos
mĂłveis OWL CLUB procura assegurar a troca de conhecimento numa experiĂŞncia digital mais
humana e positiva entre uma comunidade educativa. Esta aplicação também permite a criação e o
crescimento de um espaço que estimula novas conexões genuĂnas num ambiente digital de
aprendizagem para os estudantes, tendo a busca pelo conhecimento como objetivo principal
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