Smartphone-based assistance for blind people to stand in lines

Seita Kayukawa, Hironobu Takagi, João Guerreiro, Shigeo Morishima, Chieko Asakawa

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present a system to allow blind people to stand in line in public spaces by using an off-the-shelf smartphone only. The technologies to navigate blind pedestrians in public spaces are rapidly improving, but tasks which require to understand surrounding people's behavior are still difficult to assist. Standing in line at shops, stations, and other crowded places is one of such tasks. Therefore, we developed a system to detect and notify the distance to a person in front continuously by using a smartphone with a RGB camera and an infrared depth sensor. The system alerts three levels of distance via vibration patterns to allow users to start/stop moving forward to the right position at the right timing. To evaluate the effectiveness of the system, we performed a study with six blind people. We observed that the system enables blind participants to stand in line successfully, while also gaining more confidence.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI EA 2020 - Extended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Electronic)9781450368193
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020 Apr 25
Event2020 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA 2020 - Honolulu, United States
Duration: 2020 Apr 252020 Apr 30

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference2020 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA 2020
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityHonolulu
Period20/4/2520/4/30

Keywords

  • Assistive technology
  • Orientation and mobility
  • Pedestrian detection
  • Vibrotactile feedback
  • Visual impairment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
  • Software

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Smartphone-based assistance for blind people to stand in lines'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this