Feeling Your Way with Navibar: A Navigation System using Vibrotactile Feedback for Personal Mobility Vehicle Users

Abstract

Navigating routes using navigation systems while using Personal Mobility Vehicles (PMVs) like bikes or scooters can lead to visual distraction in outdoor environments, creating possibilities for an accident. This article proposes a new navigation system called NaVibar for PMVs that uses vibrotactile feedback on the handlebar to enhance route information delivery and reduce visual distraction. The study aims to answer four research questions about visual distraction, route recognition, mental workload, and usability. The results of the study showed that vibrotactile feedback can be an effective and useful addition to the PMVs navigation system, reducing visual distraction, and enhancing the user experience. Also, vibrotactile feedback did not affect the participants' route recognition, but it positively affected the participants’ lower workload levels. Therefore, our study demonstrates that the addition of vibrotactile feedback could enhance the usability and safety of PMV navigation systems.