Wayfinding Technologies Research Articles

Toward a better understanding of barriers to wayfinding technology use for people with disabilities

ABSTRACT Wayfinding is the process of navigating from one’s present location to their desired location. While wayfinding technologies are increasingly used by people with disabilities, there is little understanding of the barriers specific to wayfinding technology. The objective of this study was to understand the wayfinding technology barriers experienced by Canadians with disabilities. A total of 213 participants with varying disabilities (i.e. mobility, visual, hearing, memory and learning disabilities) completed a survey of open-ended questions about their personal experiences with different types of technologies. Technologies were categorized into public (i.e. digital and tactile interfaces) and personalized (i.e. mobile/website applications, wearable devices, smart assistive devices), and qualitative content analysis was used. Main themes were identified and either common across both groups (i.e. compatibility, demands on personal resources, information provision, interactability) or specific to one technology type (i.e. stigma, specific to personalized technology). Detailed subthemes provided greater specificity on the types of barriers encountered. For example, infection risk was noted as a barrier to public technology and high costs was a barrier for personalized technology. Results support the inclusion of wayfinding technology within accessibility standards and provide insights to clinicians on how to best support people with disabilities and their use of technology.

Optimasi Tata Kelola Sistem Informasi Industri Tape Melalui Pengembangan Way Finding Industri Tape Desa Banjarsari

The optimization of information system management in the tape industry through the development of Way Finding in Banjarsari Village aims to enhance operational efficiency and visitor experience. This program integrates wayfinding technology with the information system to provide accurate and interactive navigation guidance in the tape industry area. The methods used include the development of a digital wayfinding application, technical training for industry managers, and evaluation of system effectiveness through user feedback. The results indicate increased visitor satisfaction and more efficient management. The implementation of this optimized information system is expected to support the development of a more modern and attractive tape industry in Banjarsari Village.

Wayfinding Tools for People With Visual Impairments in Real-World Settings: A Literature Review of Recent Studies

A review of 35 peer reviewed articles dated from 2016 to February, 2021 was conducted to identify and describe the types of wayfinding devices that people who are blind, visually impaired or deafblind use while navigating indoors and/or outdoors in dynamic travel contexts. Within this investigation, we discovered some characteristics of participants with visual impairments, routes traveled, and real-world environments that have been included in recent wayfinding research as well as information regarding the institutions, agencies, and funding sources that enable these investigations. Results showed that 33 out of the 35 studies which met inclusionary criteria integrated the use of smart device technology. Many of these devices were supplemented by bluetooth low-energy beacons, and other sensors with more recent studies integrating LIDAR scanning. Identified studies included scant information about participant’s visual acuities or etiologies with a few exceptions, which limits the usability of the findings for this highly heterogeneous population. Themes derived from this study are categorized around the individual traveler’s needs; the wayfinding technologies identified and their perceived efficacy; the contexts and routes for wayfinding tasks; and the institutional support offered for sustaining wayfinding research.

Seamless Wayfinding by a Deafblind Adult on an Urban College Campus: A Case Study on Wayfinding Performance, Information Preferences, and Technology Requirements

This article reports on an empirical evaluation of the experience, performance, and perception of a deafblind adult participant in an experimental case study on pedestrian travel in an urban environment. The case study assessed the degree of seamlessness of the wayfinding experience pertaining to routes that traverse both indoor and outdoor spaces under different modalities of technology-aided pedestrian travel. Specifically, an adult deafblind pedestrian traveler completed three indoor/outdoor routes on an urban college campus using three supplemental wayfinding support tools: a mobile application, written directions, and a tactile map. A convergent parallel mixed-methods approach was used to synthesize insights from a pre-travel questionnaire, route travel video recordings, post-travel questionnaire, and post-travel interview. Our results indicate that wayfinding performance and confidence differed considerably between the three wayfinding support tools. The tactile map afforded the most successful wayfinding and highest confidence. Wayfinding performance and confidence were lowest for the mobile application modality. The simplicity of use of a wayfinding tool is paramount for reducing cognitive load during wayfinding. In addition, information that does not match individual, user-specific information preferences and needs inhibits wayfinding performance. Current practice pertaining to the representation of digital spatial data only marginally accounts for the complexity of pedestrian human wayfinding across the gamut of visual impairment, blindness, and deafblindness. Robust orientation and mobility training and skills remain key for negotiating unexpected or adverse wayfinding situations and scenarios, irrespective of the use of a wayfinding tool. A substantial engagement of the deafblind community in both research and development is critical for achieving universal and equitable usability of mobile wayfinding technology.

The Wayfinding Technology Application Dependability and its influential factors on Millennials

The use of navigational applications is getting famous among riders. With the development of the internet, routes information is easily at the fingertips. From a fundamental perspective, routing could not be completed without navigational applications. The performance of navigational applications can be considered as one of the determinants that influence dependability on navigational applications. This paper presents the factors that influence the dependability of technology application in way-finding. In this study, three factors influence the dependability of navigational applications in way-finding which consists of social influence; accurateness and system reliability have been adopted. Using a quantitative approach via online survey design; about with 406 usable data derived from the population sample and they were identified to be dependent on navigational apps in their wayfinding needs. As a result, the findings indicated that all of the independent variables such as social influence, accurateness and system reliability have a significant relationship with dependability on navigational applications.

Wayfinding Technologies for Older Adults with Visual Impairments: Ideas for Future Directions

We live in an era when technological advances are being developed at an exponential pace. The so-called tech boom is affecting all aspects of life from redefining social interaction to physical activity and health outcomes. It should be no surprise that older adults are an important part of the technological revolution since they represent a sizable and growing section of the world's population. As older adults of the present generation expect a longer lifespan, which increasingly includes some experience with visual impairment, technology increases the potential of remaining healthy and active for as long as possible. Technology in the area of wayfinding represents an important element of the overall strategy to achieve this goal. Advances in assistive technologies for wayfinding are increasingly being used to facilitate the mobility, independence, and safety of older adults with visual impairments. Technology does not, however, come without risks. Technology for technology's sake may be a false panacea for very real difficulties. Visual disability and its effect on quality of life require that it be addressed in a transdisciplinary approach since it is a significantly complex problem. The way technology is developed depends on many stakeholders who very often have different goals and methods. The needs of industrial developers and investors to produce products that can be sold at a profit and brought to the market expeditiously are not necessarily in accord with those who have different time lines such as the clinicians and academics conducting research and the individuals who will ultimately be using the technology. FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Although various assistive wayfinding technologies are already being developed and applied to improve the mobility of visually impaired older adults, few are being developed with this specific population in mind. Although many of these technologies appear to be relevant to older adults, they very rarely explicitly target the design and testing to this specific subgroup of the population. To address some of these concerns, we propose several future directions for the development of wayfinding technology for visually impaired people, especially older adults. Evaluation and assessment Evaluation and assessment of technology needs to play an integral part in the development of wayfinding applications for older people with vision loss. Although the time lines of developers, researchers, and service providers may not be synchronous, it is very important that the effectiveness and efficiency claims for technologies are substantiated using accepted practice-based methods. Dissemination and adoption of technologies should not depend only on marketing, especially where health effects are claimed or suggested. An example is the project for the development of accessible pedestrian signals. In three related papers, Scott and colleagues (2008) and Barlow and colleagues (2009, 2013) discuss the use of optimized accessible pedestrian signals in several urban locations including the cities of Portland, Oregon, Alpharetta, Georgia, and Austin, Texas. Each city had very different crosswalk designs, and the authors were able to improve various measures of crossings by blind pedestrians with the installation of accessible pedestrian signals and various other innovative device features. The use of bar tiles on the crosswalk was also tested. Barlow and colleagues suggested that [p]rototype beaconing APS or tactile guidestrips should be considered as options for making challenging crossings accessible to pedestrians with visual impairments (Barlow et al., 2013, p. 153). The measures they describe include the time it takes a person to cross a street and the accuracy of the crossing path. Measureable outcomes Although these measures are what a designer of this technology can easily quantify, a public health professional would want to ask questions regarding the short-, middle-, and long-term outcomes for the changes that the technology produces. …

‘I’ve got my Sat Nav, it’s alright’: Users’ Attitudes towards, and Engagements with, Technologies of Navigation

The use of qualitative research techniques in a largely quantitative cartographic domain is opening up myriad ways to explore users’ engagements technologies of navigation. This study draws on young UK-based students’ real words and life experiences as they engage with Satellite Navigation and other wayfinding technologies during first-time visits to new places to reflect on the nature of the changing relationships between self, navigational object, space and place.

Emerging roles for telemedicine and smart technologies in dementia care.

Demographic aging of the world population contributes to an increase in the number of persons diagnosed with dementia (PWD), with corresponding increases in health care expenditures. In addition, fewer family members are available to care for these individuals. Most care for PWD occurs in the home, and family members caring for PWD frequently suffer negative outcomes related to the stress and burden of observing their loved one’s progressive memory and functional decline. Decreases in cognition and self-care also necessitate that the caregiver takes on new roles and responsibilities in care provision. Smart technologies are being developed to support family caregivers of PWD in a variety of ways, including provision of information and support resources online, wayfinding technology to support independent mobility of the PWD, monitoring systems to alert caregivers to changes in the PWD and their environment, navigation devices to track PWD experiencing wandering, and telemedicine and e-health services linking caregivers and PWD with health care providers. This paper will review current uses of these advancing technologies to support care of PWD. Challenges unique to widespread acceptance of technology will be addressed and future directions explored.

The State of the Field in Applied Cognitive Technologies

Abstract Applied Cognitive Technologies provide supports that enable people with cognitive disabilities to achieve greater inclusion across virtually all life domains. This article provides a snapshot, as it were, of the state of the field pertaining to critical areas of the newly emerging field of applied cognitive technology, specifically: smartphones/mobile devices, GPS and wayfinding technologies, web access, smart homes/remote monitoring, apps and cloud computing, and social media/social networks. In addition to practical information intended to be of use to people with disabilities and their support systems, recommendations for further research areas are presented throughout the article to encourage other researchers, graduate students, and others interested in furthering the field. A conclusion section discusses the overall state of adoption and further research needs to continue pursuit of the potential of widespread benefit from a field of applied cognitive technology.

“I Never Use ‘Maps’ Anymore”: Engaging with Sat Nav Technologies and the Implications for Cartographic Literacy and Spatial Awareness

It is somewhat paradoxical that at a time of widespread and increasing adoption of Satellite Navigation (Sat Nav) technologies of wayfinding, geographic and cartographic research has engaged very little with issues relating to their impact on spatial awareness and cartographic literacy. Through exploration of geography students’ engagements with Sat Nav, we investigate how these latest forms of wayfinding technologies are influencing choice and methods of navigation and how they affect attitudes towards more ‘traditional’ forms of maps and map use. We explore engagement in terms of what geography students know about, feel towards, and achieve with, Sat Nav technologies. Principally, Sat Nav is not seen as a ‘map’ but as something different and distinctive. This, in turn, has implications for how people navigate, how they relate to the places and spaces around them and for their spatial cognition and ‘map-reading’ abilities.

Seamless integration of audio visual design into architecture for more successful projects

The integration of audio visual systems into technology-enabled buildings has long been a struggle with the architectural community. In some instances, architects do not want any part of the systems to be visible within the space, like speakers, projectors and equipment racks. In other cases, like digital signage and way-finding technology, the systems are front and center in the room and must be as visible and as user-accessible as possible. Audio visual technology is present in some form in almost every building being constructed today including educational, corporate, houses of worship, legislative, hospitality, sports arenas, healthcare, museums, and retail. Much time is spent not just on the system design, but working with architects on integrating the technology into these built environments, each of which has its own requirements. This presentation focuses on various ways to integrate audio visual technology into buildings for more seamless and successful projects. Balancing the functionality and performance of any audio visual system installation with the aesthetic impact on the space takes experience, creativeness, and a willingness to coordinate with the design team.

Variability in the Length and Frequency of Steps of Sighted and Visually Impaired Walkers

The variability of the length and frequency of steps was measured in sighted and visually impaired walkers at three different paces. The variability was low, especially at the preferred pace, and similar for both groups. A model incorporating step counts and step frequency provides good estimates of the distance traveled. Applications to wayfinding technology are discussed.

An Experimental Investigation into Wayfinding Directions for Visually Impaired People

In recent years, there has been an escalation of orientation and wayfinding technologies and systems for visually impaired people. These technological advancements, however, have not been matched by a suitable investigation of human-computer interaction (e.g. designing navigation aids for people who form different cognitive maps for navigation). The aim of this study is to investigate whether a group of sighted participants and a group of visually impaired participants experience a difference in mental and physical demands when given two different sets of verbal instructions directing them to four landmarks. The content of the first set of instructions was proportioned to route descriptions derived from sighted people, and the second set proportioned to descriptions derived from visually impaired people. The objective assessment involved measuring the time taken by participants to reach landmarks and the number of deviations that occurred. A NASA–Task Load Index questionnaire provided an indication of participants subjective perception of workload. The results revealed that instructions formed from visually impaired people resulted in a lower weighted workload score, less minor deviations, and quicker times for visually impaired participants. In contrast, these instructions were found to cause a higher weighted workload score for sighted participants. The results are discussed in relation to the issue of personalisation of mobile context-aware systems for visually impaired people.

Older pedestrians, mobile phones and new way-finding technology: first stage of new research

Problem New developments are currently occurring in mobile phone technology that involve harnessing GPS (Global Positioning Systems) to provide Location Based Services (LBS). This article reports on the first stage of research that aims to develop this technology in ways that will potentially benefit older people and people with visual impairments. Methods The literature on older people’s use of mobile phones is briefly reviewed. This stage of the research involved in-depth semi-structured interviews with 32 older people, mainly aged 80 and over. The interviews included questions about respondents’ use of mobile phones and their views and ideas about technology to assist in pedestrian way-finding. Results Just under a third of respondents, the majority of them male, used a mobile phone. Overall respondents divided more or less equally on whether they thought way-finding technology would be useful to them. However, the majority of respondents were able to come up with ideas about the content, transmission and design of any such technology. Discussion Among these respondents, chronological age was a poor indicator of interest in and use of mobile phone technology for way-finding. Our results support other research that emphasises the diversity of older people and the variety of factors that drive people’s use of technology. Conclusion While the use of mobile phones for way-finding has potential for older people, their engagement in practice with the technology will depend on a complex of social factors, of which chronological age may be the least important.

Shopmobility at the millennium : `Enabling' access in town centres

Shopmobility provides a vital link in the community transport chain. It has been designed to secure for mobility-impaired people equality of access to shopping facilities and `barrier-free' movement within town centres. This agenda is important in the UK given the growing incidence of age-related disability, the spread of pedestrianisation to smaller shopping centres, and publicised development of wayfinding technologies to help disabled people navigate in unfamiliar surroundings. The recent millennium audit of Shopmobility schemes furnishes a national data-base highlighting the demand for services, operating practices in contrasting built-environments, stockholding of equipment, financial management and planning intentions. This report overviews the key findings of that audit within the context of a government commitment to an `inclusionary' and integrated transport policy. It concludes that an adequate and secure stream of financial support is essential for the sustained development of Shopmobility in local contexts, and recommends that Local Transport Plans should ensure that Shopmobility schemes are effectively linked to community and public transport services, and accessible car parking provision for disabled motorists.

Using Technology to Overcome the Tyranny of Space: Information Provision and Wayfinding

Urban wayfinding technology offers many possibilities by which older people and mobility-impaired users can overcome the barriers encountered on every-day journeys in the built environment. Previous work has highlighted the extent to which personal mobility and independence are significant determinants of the quality of life amongst both elderly and visually impaired groups. The paper outlines the development of the auditory location finder (ALF), which is a beacon-based local information system designed to enhance the wayfinding activities of these, and potentially other, user-groups in the community. The proposed system provides the user with an audio message, which is obtained on request via a small portable hand unit. The messages inform the user of their whereabouts and give information about the area that they are currently in. The development of the device involves issues such as message content and structure, route choice, orientation, landmarks, clues and the extent of user reliance on technology. Preliminary trials have been carried out in a UK city and have obtained initial user feedback to help underpin the technological development of the device and its potential application. The paper concludes by outlining the importance of new urban technology and the way in which such local information systems can potentially contribute to overcoming particular patterns of exclusion experienced by mobility-impaired groups, such as the visually impaired.