TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of three orientation and mobility aids for individuals with blindness
T2 - Verbal description, audio-tactile map and audio-haptic map
AU - Papadopoulos, Konstantinos
AU - Koustriava, Eleni
AU - Koukourikos, Panagiotis
AU - Kartasidou, Lefkothea
AU - Barouti, Marialena
AU - Varveris, Asimis
AU - Misiou, Marina
AU - Zacharogeorga, Timoclia
AU - Anastasiadis, Theocharis
PY - 2017/1/2
Y1 - 2017/1/2
N2 - Disorientation and inability of wayfinding are phenomena with a great frequency for individuals with visual impairments during the process of travelling novel environments. Orientation and mobility aids could suggest important tools for the preparation of a more secure and cognitively mapped travelling. The aim of the present study was to examine if spatial knowledge structured after an individual with blindness had studied the map of an urban area that was delivered through a verbal description, an audio-tactile map or an audio-haptic map, could be used for detecting in the area specific points of interest. The effectiveness of the three aids with reference to each other was also examined. The results of the present study highlight the effectiveness of the audio-tactile and the audio-haptic maps as orientation and mobility aids, especially when these are compared to verbal descriptions.
AB - Disorientation and inability of wayfinding are phenomena with a great frequency for individuals with visual impairments during the process of travelling novel environments. Orientation and mobility aids could suggest important tools for the preparation of a more secure and cognitively mapped travelling. The aim of the present study was to examine if spatial knowledge structured after an individual with blindness had studied the map of an urban area that was delivered through a verbal description, an audio-tactile map or an audio-haptic map, could be used for detecting in the area specific points of interest. The effectiveness of the three aids with reference to each other was also examined. The results of the present study highlight the effectiveness of the audio-tactile and the audio-haptic maps as orientation and mobility aids, especially when these are compared to verbal descriptions.
KW - audio-haptic map
KW - audio-tactile map
KW - blindness
KW - spatial knowledge
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84983534929&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10400435.2016.1171809
DO - 10.1080/10400435.2016.1171809
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84983534929
SN - 1040-0435
VL - 29
SP - 1
EP - 7
JO - Assistive Technology
JF - Assistive Technology
IS - 1
ER -