Electronic cane for visually impaired persons: Empirical examination of its usability and effectiveness

Sung Yeon Kim, Ki Joon Kim, S. Shyam Sundar, Frank Biocca

Research output: Chapter in Book/Entry/PoemConference contribution

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Although various types of electronic mobility aids for visually impaired persons have been developed as alternatives to the conventional white cane, users still have much doubt on the effectiveness and usability of these newly introduced aids. To identify ways to improve usability and effectiveness of electronic cane, a task performance study was conducted to examine the usability level of electronic canes using performance metrics (based on time-consumption and error rates). 20 visually impaired persons with and without prior experience using a white cane participated in a 2x2 factorial mixed-design experiment, in which they used two types of cane (white vs. electronic). Results showed that an electronic cane was more effective in avoiding obstacles than a white cane for both experienced and inexperienced users, and previous experience with a white cane was found to be beneficial for timely task completion.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationHuman Centric Technology and Service in Smart Space, HumanCom 2012
Pages71-76
Number of pages6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012
Event2012 International Conference on Human-Centric Computing, HumanCom 2012 - Gwangju, Korea, Republic of
Duration: Sep 6 2012Sep 8 2012

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Electrical Engineering
Volume182 LNEE
ISSN (Print)1876-1100
ISSN (Electronic)1876-1119

Other

Other2012 International Conference on Human-Centric Computing, HumanCom 2012
Country/TerritoryKorea, Republic of
CityGwangju
Period9/6/129/8/12

Keywords

  • electronic cane
  • task performance
  • usability
  • visually impaired persons
  • white cane

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Electronic cane for visually impaired persons: Empirical examination of its usability and effectiveness'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this