Year: 2012
Type: report
Abstract: The blind and Visually Impaired (VI) rely heavily on walking and public transit for their transportation needs. A \nmajor challenge for this population is safe crossing of intersections. As a result of the American with Disabilities \nAct (ADA), Accessible Pedestrian Signal (APS) systems at signalized intersections have improved significantly \nsince 2000. However, these systems still have shortcomings for both users and municipalities, and new approaches \nare needed to adequately serve pedestrians with low vision. As part of our ongoing effort to develop a prototype \nMobile Accessible Pedestrian Signal (MAPS) application for the blind and VI, we interviewed ten blind and lowvision \npeople to better understand what types of information they use at intersection crossings and to identify \ninformation types that could assist them. With these survey results, a MAPS prototype was developed that provides \nsignal and intersection geometry information to Smartphone users at signalized intersections. User interaction is via \nsimple tactile input (single or double-tap) and Text-To-Speech (TTS) technology. A MAPS prototype was \ndeveloped and tested to evaluate the functionalities of providing signal and orientation information to the visually \nimpaired travelers at signalized intersections. This proposal will build upon the developed MAPS and investigate \nhow blind and low-vision individuals gain their spatial knowledge surrounding an intersection and how the MAPS \ncan be used to support their decision-making strategy at intersection crossings.
Author: Chen-Fu Liao
Language: English
Subfield: Occupational Therapy
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1523985695