Designing a Navigation App with iBeacon Technology for the Visually Impaired Smartphone Users

• Main Authors: Lin, Yi Ying, 林禕瑩
• Other Authors: 余能豪
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/23740371947593865764

碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 數位內容碩士學位學程 === 104 === Using mobile apps to help route finding is very common for most of us. However, the visually impaired smartphone user does not benefit from this technology. A tremendous demand for independence and mobility remains unsolved. Unlike us, the visually impaired use their smartphone by auditory sense. But those apps with touch screen are not specially designed for their usage pattern. According to our preliminary study, current navigation service always comes with bad information display and unfriendly interaction design. All of these lead to a very frustrating navigation experience. Through the qualitative research methods like contextual inquiry, shadowing, and expert interview, we’d like to explore how different they are from us on the matter of traveling, and reveal the real need of the visually impaired for mobile navigation. Based on our research finding, we want to propose a navigation app specially made for the visually impaired smartphone user. In addition to GPS base service, we provide hyper-local, meaningful multi-sensory notifications to our user through micro location technology of iBeacon. And we integrate the knowledge they learned from Orientation and Mobility training in the navigation process to create a better walking experience and encourage them to live with independency. The app itself is not only a way finding tool but also an information and experience sharing platform for the visually impaired community. Combining the power of design and technology, we can enhance their cognition to the living environment, and improved the independence &; mobility for our users as well. In the end, the visual impaired users will be motivated to explore the world on their own and enjoy the colorful world.