Navindor

Secondary research

Knowing very little about the problem space, we pored over blogs, articles, and videos created by visual impaired people to learn about how they reflected on their experiences. Additionally, we read academic ethnographies and disability studies literature to take on a more research-intensive mindset. The study in this research article is an example of work we leveraged in our research and design process.

Semi-structured interviews

We conducted semi-structured interviews with four people with different levels of visual impairment. We asked about their daily routines, navigational challenges, and habits. We transcribed our interviews and analyzed them with thematic analysis.

Finding 1: Users have difficulty interpreting the interface for functionality.

Our users had difficulty determining the buttons on each screen and therefore did not always understand each screen’s complete functionality. With certain interface designs, our participants experienced difficulty locating the right functions that would lead them to complete their tasks or subtasks without frustration or distress.

In our first evaluation, P1 had difficulty locating the “explore” button on the homepage. They kept tapping buttons other than “explore” and spent more than 3 minutes to find the “explore” button. In this task, they said, "why it is always POIs" (they kept tappingon POIs) and when got to the right button, they exclaimed, "Finally, explore!" Additionally, in our second evaluation, P2 had difficulty finding the home button after completing the navigation task. Because the home button is at the top left corner of the page, she barely touched it and kept searching for more than 2 minutes for the home button on the arrival page.

Finding 2: Users think that the beeping function is helpful.

As our users cannot directly see the direction in which they are facing, we implemented a directional beeping noise will be made during the navigation process when the user isfacing the right direction. Users will only hear the metronomic beeping feedback while they are walking in the right direction of their destination or sub­destination. If the user is going in the wrong direction, the beeping noise will stop. Audio voice instructions will then inform the user of which way to orient themselves in order to ensure that they are going on the right path. The beeping noise will continue then. All participants expressed a preference for using and relying on the beeping feedback. Hence, we will keep this function as it appears to enhance the experience of navigating to a specific indoor destination. In our third evaluation, P3 said that “The beeping thing is really good” and similarly in our fourth evaluation, P4 said, “The beeping helps me I guess walk in the right direction.” They found the directional beeping to be helpful and it enhanced their experience.

Finding 3: Presentation of POIs across multiple pages was cumbersome and frustrating to navigate through.

Our participants noted that navigating through the Points of Interest pages was slow and frustrating. The POIs were spread out across multiple pages with buttons to navigate to each page at the bottom of the screen. This is the only part of the app where buttons are on the bottom of the screen so participants did not readily tap around that area. In the third evaluation, P3 got a little frustrated when she was not able to find “UW Medical Center” on the first page—“UW Medical Center” was located on the second page. She then tried swiping the screen to get to the next page but did not succeed. It took her 3 minutes to go down to the page and figure out the need to tap the next button. In the last evaluation, P4 explicitly asked “why are the locations spread out over multiple screens?” when trying to find the “UW Medical Center” on the second page.

Finding 4: Distances presented only in meters are confusing to understand.

In the process of navigation, participants were told distances in meters between themselves and landmark points or turning points. However, our participants found it difficult and confusing to interpret distances in meters or feet. Specifically, they did not feel that the distances presented were very useful to their immediate navigation. P3 noted that “I can’t tell how far 50 meters is” and P4 asked, “How much are 5 meters?”. In our interview, they reflected that the distances themselves were fine but understanding how to use and measure those distances, especially while blindfolded, was much more difficult.

Finding 5: Button to input voice command was confusing.

In our evaluation, the participants were unsure of how to use the “hold to speak”function when searching for their destination within the UW Medical Center. As a result, our participants were confused on whether their commands would be processed immediately or if they needed to wait a certain period of time before voice command was activated. In our second evaluation, P2 did not know when to speak after holding the button. She held the button for 20 seconds but did not say anything. In our third evaluation, P3 had difficulty in understanding the “the tap to type/hold to speak” function. She explicitly asked what this function was and our facilitator had to explain it to her. She then understood how to use the function.