User requirements regarding information included in audio-tactile maps for individuals with blindness

Konstantinos Papadopoulos, Konstantinos Charitakis, Lefkothea Kartasidou, Georgios Kouroupetroglou, Suad Sakalli Gumus, Efstratios Stylianidis, Rainer Stiefelhagen, Karin Müller, Engin Yilmaz, Gerhard Jaworek, Christos Polimeras, Utku Sayin, Nikolaos Oikonomidis, Nikolaos Lithoxopoulos

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the user requirements of young adults with blindness regarding the information to be included/ mapped in two different types of audio-tactile mobility maps: (a) audio-tactile maps of indoors, and (b) audio-tactile maps of campuses. Forty young adults (aged from 18 years to 30 years) with blindness took part in the research. Participants came from four countries: 14 from Greece, 2 from Cyprus, 18 from Turkey, and 6 from Germany. The researchers developed two lists of information to be included in the two types of audio-tactile maps (indoor and campus) respectively. Participants were asked to evaluate the information, regarding: (a) the significance of the information in regard to safety, location of services, way finding and orientation during movement, and (b) the frequency the participants meet the information (within their surrounding and the environment they move in). The first list of information to be evaluated, related to the maps of indoor places consisted of 136 different information, and the second list of information to be evaluated, related to the campus maps consisted of 213 different information. The result of the study is the definition of the most important information that should be included in each one of the two different types of audio-tactile maps. Thus, the findings of the present study will be particularly important for designers of orientation and mobility (O&M) aids for individuals with blindness. Moreover, the findings can be useful for O&M specialists, rehabilitation specialists, and teachers who design and construct O&M aids for their students with blindness.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationComputers Helping People with Special Needs - 15th International Conference, ICCHP 2016, Proceedings
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages168-175
Number of pages8
Volume9759
ISBN (Print)9783319412665
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016
Event15th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, ICCHP 2016 - Linz, Austria
Duration: 13 Jul 201615 Jul 2016

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume9759
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Other

Other15th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, ICCHP 2016
Country/TerritoryAustria
CityLinz
Period13/07/1615/07/16

Keywords

  • Audio-tactile map
  • Audio-tactile symbol
  • Blind
  • Visual impairment

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