Background

Over 7 million Americans are legally blind and 32 million live with low vision. Lack of environmental spatial awareness is a serious impediment to independent travel for those suffering from blindness or limited vision, especially in active urban environments. For example, urban settings generally have both high-density foot traffic and automotive congestion, making navigation in such settings is extremely challenging. These challenges can limit independence and result in major delays when going out for errands and other activities. Even chores as simple as shopping for groceries can be a major challenge.

Currently, many curriculums designed for the blind and vision impaired include a memorization-based navigation strategy. In particular, students are guided by educators along safe paths and encouraged to touch and feel adjacent buildings, landmarks, sidewalks, and roads. After much practice, students can safely and independently travel these paths to destinations across their city or campus based on memorization. Unfortunately, this memorization-based navigation strategy has many disadvantages. The key disadvantage is that it does not build a holistic understanding of the environment for the student. Instead, the student is restricted to traveling a limited number of independently understood and memorized pathways.

Therefore, better tools or strategies for navigation for the blind and vision impaired that can overcome the limitations of current strategies would be extremely helpful.

Technology Overview

NC State researchers have developed a portable 3D tactile map and accompanying navigation system, which provides the blind or vision impaired user a holistic understanding of the entire city or campus mapped.

The map itself has many layers of information, including deep valleys for roads, models of the local buildings, and most perhaps crucially, uniquely textured key points. In operation, the user runs their hands over the 3D map, gaining an understanding of the road paths, building placements, and other useful information. The uniquely textured key points are well labeled in braille, and each is easily differentiated from the others, both by finger and walking cane touch.

The navigation system includes reproducing these textures at the physical key points represented on the map. This allows the blind or visually impaired person to find the texture patch within the physical world and use it as an orientation point.

Together, this map and key navigation system allows the user to gain a holistic understanding of the local city or campus. The NC State researchers tested this system with local students and educators, and the results were extremely positive.

Benefits

Holistic navigation and situational awareness for the blind and visually impaired
More inclusive city or campus infrastructure
More safety for the blind
Increased inclusivity

Applications

A low cost part of city infrastructure
Increasing tourism and visiting by from the blind and visually impaired
Increased inclusivity on college campuses

3D Tactile Map for the Blind