Provide GPS navigation/wayfinding features on mobile devices
The rapid development of both GPS navigation devices and mobile devices has opened up an opportunity for the development of intelligent wayfinding systems for people who need assistance due to blindness or cognitive disabilities. These systems can tell the user’s real-time location, give directions to a destination, and assist with public transportation.
Discussion by Disabilities
Mobile GPS navigation devices with audio interfaces can help people who are blind identify their location and safely navigate to a destination.
Mobile navigation devices can assist people with cognitive disabilities in living independently by giving directions to a destination, giving advice on how to navigate public transportation, and connecting to real-time assistance from caregivers.
Existing Products
These products are not necessarily endorsed by RtF, but represent the range of available options.
- Loadstone GPS(link is external)
- Mobile Geo(link is external) – Code Factory
- Trekker(link is external) – Humanware
Related Research and Papers
- Wireless mobile technologies to support people with cognitive disabilities on public transportation(link is external) – Dr. Alexander Repenning, Dr. James Sullivan.
- Mobile Architectures and Prototypes to Assist Persons with Cognitive Disabilities using Public Transportation(link is external) – James F. Sullivan, Jr. and Gerhard Fischer
- Indoor Wayfinding: Developing a Functional Interface for Individuals with Cognitive Impairments(link is external) – Alan L. Liu, Harlan Hile, Henry Kautz, Gaetano Borriello, Pat A. Brown, Mark Harniss, Kurt Johnson (2006)
- An Experimental Investigation into Wayfinding Directions for Visually Impaired People(link is external) – Nicholas A. Bradley and Mark D. Dunlop (2005)
- A context aware handheld wayfinding system for individuals with cognitive impairments(link is external) – Yao-Jen Chang, Shih-Kai Tsai, Tsen-Yung Wang (2008)
- Algorithms for Reliable Navigation and Wayfinding(link is external) – Shazia Haque, Lars Kulik and Alexander Klippel (2008)
- Accessible Wayfinding Project(link is external)
- Personalized accessibility map (PAM): a novel assisted wayfinding approach for people with disabilities(link is external)- Hassan A. Karimi, Lei Zhang, Jessica G. Benner
- Wayfinding and Navigation for People with Disabilities Using Social Navigation Networks(link is external)- Hassan A. Karimi, M. Bernardine Dias, Jonathan Pearlman, George J. Zimmerman
- Accessible smartphones for blind users: A case study for a wayfinding system- M.C.Rodriguez-Sanchez, M.A.Moreno-Alvarez, E.Martin, S.Borromeo, J.A.Hernandez-Tamamesa