This project develops a novel assistive technology for aiding in mobility of the Visually Impaired in collaboration with Royal Visio. This technology provides VIPs with a dynamic tactile map of their environment to improve spatial awareness. The aim is to improve overview, wayfinding and orientation, while also improving the overall mobility experience by boosting confidence and independence through comprehensive awareness of the environment.
The initial research phase seeked to understand the needs and challenges in mobility faced by VIPs, both from a functional point of view, focusing on wayfinding and orientation, and on a psychosocial level, focusing on emotional and experiential needs that derive from the process. It was found that the absence of the visual sense significantly limits VIPs’ ability to overview and comprehend their surroundings, hindering their orientation and use of distant environmental reference for movement, resulting in the reliance on physical guidelines. Reduced awareness of potential hazards and complicated wayfinding often leads focus the functional aspects of mobility. They experience a vigilant, alert state of mind, focusing mainly on avoiding risks and not losing their way. This intense focus diminishes engagement with the broader environment and leads VIPs to stick to familiar areas. Such limitations impact their independence but also their connection with society.
The review of current assistive solutions reveals that they primarily concentrate on similar functional aspects of mobility, using interface technologies that fall short in significantly enhancing environmental awareness and reducing the perceived lack of environmental awareness.
This gap highlights the need for assistive technologies that focus not only on wayfinding and navigation but also on these experiential aspects. The project proposes a multidimensional, spatial interface technology akin to conventional tactile maps but of dynamic nature, is capable of real-time updates based on the actual environment, moves along with the user and subsequently is able to display non-static and small-scale environmental elements. This dynamic tactile map aims to provide a deeper sense of environmental awareness and understanding.
In the subsequent research-through-design phase, a prototype of the conceptual product, that provides a dynamic top-view map of the environment on an electronic braille screen, is put to the test. Despite highlighting the potential of this conceptual direction for spatial understanding, orientation and free, confident movement, the experiment reveals significant requirements for improvement of the interface and environmental mapping technologies.
The final design, “Immersive Spatial Awareness,” features an improved interface with in the form of a haptic augmented reality system that enables a dynamic 360° 3D perception of the environment, primarily through touch, but supplemented with multisensory elements. While significant technological development and Human-Centred-Design is required to realise this visionary concept, the applied technologies are grounded in actual research and existing technologies that see rapid development, highlighting the realistic potential of the concept. The design is supplemented with a roadmap that details and presents the development process towards the successful application of this technology.