PathFinder: Designing a Map-less Navigation System for Blind People in Unfamiliar Buildings
Abstract
Indoor navigation systems with prebuilt maps have shown great potential in navigating blind people even in unfamiliar buildings. However, blind people cannot always benefit from them in every building, as prebuilt maps are expensive to build. This paper explores a map-less navigation system for blind people to reach destinations in unfamiliar buildings, which is implemented on a robot. We first conducted a participatory design with five blind people, which revealed that intersections and signs are the most relevant information in unfamiliar buildings. Then, we prototyped PathFinder, a navigation system that allows blind people to determine their way by detecting and conveying information about intersections and signs. Through a participatory study, we improved the interface of PathFinder, such as the feedback for conveying the detection results. Finally, a study with seven blind participants validated that PathFinder could assist users in navigating unfamiliar buildings with increased confidence compared to their regular aid.
BibTeX
@conference{Kuribayashi-2023-135935,author = {Masaki Kuribayashi and Tatsuya Ishihara and Daisuke Sato and Jayakorn Vongkulbhisal and Karnik Ram and Seita Kayukawa and Hironobu Takagi and Shigeo Morishima and Chieko Asakawa},
title = {PathFinder: Designing a Map-less Navigation System for Blind People in Unfamiliar Buildings},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
year = {2023},
month = {April},
pages = {16},
publisher = {ACM},
keywords = {intersection detection, visual impairment, orientation and mobility, sign recognition},
}