Smartphone haptic feedback for nonvisual wayfinding

Abstract

We explore using vibration on a smartphone to provide turn-by-turn walking instructions to people with visual impairments. We present two novel feedback methods called Wand and ScreenEdge and compare them to a third method called Pattern. We built a prototype and conducted a user study where 8 participants walked along a pre-programmed route using the 3 vibration feedback methods and no audio output. Participants interpreted the feedback with an average error rate of just 4 percent. Most preferred the Pattern method, where patterns of vibrations indicate different directions, or the ScreenEdge method, where areas of the screen correspond to directions and touching them may induce vibration.