Questioning User Experience: A Comparison Between Visual, Auditory and Haptic Guidance Messages Among Older Pedestrians

Abstract

Designing a navigation aid adapted to older pedestrians' specificities could help in preserving their autonomy. Indeed, older people rely on walk for their daily journeys more than any other people. But cognitive and perceptive abilities may decline with aging and impair the pedestrian mobility. This study was aimed at comparing visual, auditory and haptic guidance messages among older pedestrians. Navigation performance and user experience (UX) were taken into account. Time to destination and rate of correct responses were measured in a pedestrian navigation simulator. Post-activity interviews were used to question participants' perceptions, feelings and hesitations. Results showed great performance and UX for visual messages, whereas results were mixed for haptic messages.