ERIC Number: ED590387
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Apr
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
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Methodology for Building Virtual Reality Mobile Applications for Blind People on Advanced Visits to Unknown Interior Spaces
Guerrón Paredes, Nancy Enriqueta; Cobo, Antonio; Martín, Carlos; Serrano, José Javier
International Association for Development of the Information Society, Paper presented at the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) International Conference on Mobile Learning (14th, Lisbon, Portugal, Apr 14-16, 2018)
Virtual reality applications for blind people in smartphones were used to make virtual visits in advance to unknown spaces; these need to include a set of cognitive and sensitive interfaces that allow users to use their other sensory capabilities to understand information about their environment and facilitate the interaction with the application, so that the user can make a mental representation of the unknown space. Some strategies were designed to provide continuous and clear information to the user, so that he can perform exploration activities within a virtual environment generated from a real environment with the help of nineteen blind people and five visually impaired people who participated in the development and tests carried out into six workshops, during twenty-four months. During each workshop took logs about the activities that the user did for the recognized and location of objects and structures indoors. This information was stored in a database to be analyzed and interpreted in order to make subsequent modifications to the application, until achieving a tool that is sufficiently useful, safe and accepted for the user. The last applications were built with voice patterns, beeps, vibrations and gestures called sensitive interfaces, and also with a cognitive interface called "Focus of attention" based on proximity and remote exploration. There was a thirty-eight percent of improvement when the participants chose to remote explore the virtual environment with regard to proximity exploration, also there was preference to be warned with low to medium frequency beeps, a fast reproduction of the voice to receive information on objects and structures and simple gestures for the interaction with Smartphone. In the last experience, we used a structure sensor coupled to the Smartphone for user tracking, and bone conduction headphones to reproduce spatial sounds; they said it was pleasing to hear 3D sounds with personalized response in bone earphones, for locating objects inside the test scenario; there was a twenty-one percent of improvement with the participants using beeps instead of vocals or musical instruments. [For the complete proceedings, see ED590271.]
Descriptors: Computer Simulation, Simulated Environment, Blindness, Telecommunications, Handheld Devices, Visual Impairments, Visually Impaired Mobility, Travel Training, Workshops, Cognitive Mapping, Spatial Ability, Auditory Stimuli, Tactual Perception
International Association for the Development of the Information Society. e-mail: secretariat@iadis.org; Web site: http://www.iadisportal.org
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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