Navigating indoors without a map can be challenging, especially for visually impaired individuals in unfamiliar settings. Many existing indoor navigation methods rely on building maps, pre-deployed infrastructure (like BLE beacons or RFID), or visual-based systems that require a clear line of sight to a camera. These requirements can make…

Aim/Purpose: This paper proposes a new approach to developing a deep learning-based prototyping wearable model which can assist blind and visually disabled people to recognize their environments and navigate through them. As a result, visually impaired people will be able to manage day-to-day activities and navigate through the world around them…

This study examined the differential effects of a GPS based navigational app displayed on a smartwatch and a paper map on the ability of individuals with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities (ID) to independently navigate unfamiliar walking routes. A single case alternating treatment design was used to compare the effectiveness of these…

The development of mobile apps, which are either suitably adapted or especially designed for use by sensory-deprived people, have contributed significantly to the continuously increasing adoption of digital assistive technologies by people with disabilities. Throughout the design of two assistive navigation mobile apps for blind and visually…

As researchers encourage teachers to bring fanfiction into classrooms, questions remain about whether online fanfiction communities are accessible to all students. This paper presents results from a practitioner-oriented usability inspection of FanFiction.net, investigating challenges students with disabilities might encounter as they participate.…

Introduction: As the number of people with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) is continuously increasing, rehabilitation and engineering researchers have identified the need to design sensory-substitution devices that would offer assistance and guidance to these people for performing navigational tasks. Auditory…

This study investigated navigation with route instructions generated by digital-map software and synthetic speech. The participants, either visually impaired or sighted wearing blindfolds, successfully located rooms in an unfamiliar building. Users with visual impairments demonstrated better route-finding performance when the technology provided…

The research reported here is part of a larger project which seeks to combine serious games (or games-based learning) with location-based services to help people with intellectual disabilities and additional sensory impairments to develop work based skills. Specifically this paper reports on where these approaches are combined to scaffold the…

Standards-based reform efforts are highly dependent on accurate assessment of all students, including those with disabilities. The accuracy of current large-scale assessments is undermined by construct-irrelevant factors including access barriers, a particular problem for students with disabilities. Testing accommodations such as the read-aloud…