Wayfinding wearable device and mobile app that translates turn by turn directions to haptic vibrations to safely guide visually-impaired users to their desired destination.

Description

For people with visual impairments or blindness, wayfinding, or the process of navigating unfamiliar spaces to reach a destination, is a complex and intimidating task. Although mobile phones now come preinstalled with screen readers (ie. iPhone VoiceOver and Android’s TalkBack), Google Maps and similar GPS navigation apps are not user-friendly. People with visual impairments or blindness rely heavily on multisensory feedback from their environment to navigate spaces, but the auditory feedback from the screen reader tends to overpower all other senses and can be very overwhelming for the user to concentrate on what steps to take next. This could potentially put the user in a distressed and vulnerable state, especially if others in the surrounding environment are also distracted (i.e. smartphone zombies). We are proposing to design a different user experience using principles of calm technology. Calm technology is a type of information technology where the interaction between the technology and its user is designed to occur in his/her periphery rather than constantly at the center of attention. Using Maps API and Bluetooth LE, we are developing a wayfinding bracelet and mobile app that translates turn by turn directions to haptic vibrations to safely guide visually-impaired users to their desired destination.

Classes

Bluetooth LE, Designing Meaningful Interactions, Expressive Interfaces: Introduction to Fashion Technology, Looking Forward 2: Design for Accessibility, Looking Forward 2: Design for Accessibility, Tangible Interaction Workshop

Social media is predominantly visual. Byte is a social media platform that is purely auditory, designed specifically for the low vision community.

https://lgr277.itp.io/

Description

Social media platforms are reactive, in that they only provide access to those with low vision after their success with the sighted user market and they are mainly visual. Byte is a social platform for all, built in consideration of users with low vision. By recording an audio byte, users can share their lives on a feed, along with posts from friends and family.

Classes

Looking Forward 2: Design for Accessibility