An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on Training
Navigation assistive technologies have been designed to support the mobility of people who are blind and visually impaired during independent navigation by providing sensory augmentation, spatial information and general awareness of their environment. This paper focuses on the extended Usability and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/12/4538 |
| _version_ | 1797482418542739456 |
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| author | Paraskevi Theodorou Kleomenis Tsiligkos Apostolos Meliones Costas Filios |
| author_facet | Paraskevi Theodorou Kleomenis Tsiligkos Apostolos Meliones Costas Filios |
| author_sort | Paraskevi Theodorou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Navigation assistive technologies have been designed to support the mobility of people who are blind and visually impaired during independent navigation by providing sensory augmentation, spatial information and general awareness of their environment. This paper focuses on the extended Usability and User Experience (UX) evaluation of BlindRouteVision, an outdoor navigation smartphone application that tries to efficiently solve problems related to the pedestrian navigation of visually impaired people without the aid of guides. The proposed system consists of an Android application that interacts with an external high-accuracy GPS sensor tracking pedestrian mobility in real-time, a second external device specifically designed to be mounted on traffic lights for identifying traffic light status and an ultrasonic sensor for detecting near-field obstacles along the route of the blind. Moreover, during outdoor navigation, it can optionally incorporate the use of Public Means of Transport, as well as provide multiple other uses such as dialing a call and notifying the current location in case of an emergency. We present findings from a Usability and UX standpoint of our proposed system conducted in the context of a pilot study, with 30 people having varying degrees of blindness. We also received feedback for improving both the available functionality of our application and the process by which the blind users learn the features of the application. The method of the study involved using standardized questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The evaluation took place after the participants were exposed to the system’s functionality via specialized user-centered training sessions organized around a training version of the application that involves route simulation. The results indicate an overall positive attitude from the users. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:32:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9705d3046c87484e84ba42ec5982d07d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:32:05Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-9705d3046c87484e84ba42ec5982d07d2023-11-23T18:55:00ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-06-012212453810.3390/s22124538An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on TrainingParaskevi Theodorou0Kleomenis Tsiligkos1Apostolos Meliones2Costas Filios3Department of Digital Systems, School of Information and Communication Technologies, University of Piraeus, 18534 Piraeus, GreeceDepartment of Digital Systems, School of Information and Communication Technologies, University of Piraeus, 18534 Piraeus, GreeceDepartment of Digital Systems, School of Information and Communication Technologies, University of Piraeus, 18534 Piraeus, GreeceDepartment of Digital Systems, School of Information and Communication Technologies, University of Piraeus, 18534 Piraeus, GreeceNavigation assistive technologies have been designed to support the mobility of people who are blind and visually impaired during independent navigation by providing sensory augmentation, spatial information and general awareness of their environment. This paper focuses on the extended Usability and User Experience (UX) evaluation of BlindRouteVision, an outdoor navigation smartphone application that tries to efficiently solve problems related to the pedestrian navigation of visually impaired people without the aid of guides. The proposed system consists of an Android application that interacts with an external high-accuracy GPS sensor tracking pedestrian mobility in real-time, a second external device specifically designed to be mounted on traffic lights for identifying traffic light status and an ultrasonic sensor for detecting near-field obstacles along the route of the blind. Moreover, during outdoor navigation, it can optionally incorporate the use of Public Means of Transport, as well as provide multiple other uses such as dialing a call and notifying the current location in case of an emergency. We present findings from a Usability and UX standpoint of our proposed system conducted in the context of a pilot study, with 30 people having varying degrees of blindness. We also received feedback for improving both the available functionality of our application and the process by which the blind users learn the features of the application. The method of the study involved using standardized questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The evaluation took place after the participants were exposed to the system’s functionality via specialized user-centered training sessions organized around a training version of the application that involves route simulation. The results indicate an overall positive attitude from the users.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/12/4538UX (user experience)usabilitymobile appuser-centered trainingvisual impairments and blindness |
| spellingShingle | Paraskevi Theodorou Kleomenis Tsiligkos Apostolos Meliones Costas Filios An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on Training Sensors UX (user experience) usability mobile app user-centered training visual impairments and blindness |
| title | An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on Training |
| title_full | An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on Training |
| title_fullStr | An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on Training |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on Training |
| title_short | An Extended Usability and UX Evaluation of a Mobile Application for the Navigation of Individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairments Outdoors—An Evaluation Framework Based on Training |
| title_sort | extended usability and ux evaluation of a mobile application for the navigation of individuals with blindness and visual impairments outdoors an evaluation framework based on training |
| topic | UX (user experience) usability mobile app user-centered training visual impairments and blindness |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/12/4538 |
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