This project was conducted by the Cognitive Assistance Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. I worked with my mentors, Chieko Asakawa and Kris Kitani, and my former lab members, Daisuke Sato, João Guerreiro, and Donghyun Yoo.
We investigated existing navigation and information access issues experienced by blind people and examined how a prototype navigation system using a smartphone (NavCog) or a navigation robot (CaBot) might help. One user scenario was hospital navigation that poses many wayfinding challenges for visitors, especially for those who cannot rely on visual signage. Another user scenario was in window shopping, where blind people cannot fully experience the recreational activity without sighted assistance.
We conducted exploratory research consisting of usability evaluation questionnaires, focus groups, and requirements analysis interviews with blind participants to inform future research and development of the advanced navigation system. User testing was conducted in laboratory and wild settings to examine the effectiveness of a prototype.
Rie Kamikubo, Hernisa Kacorri, and Chieko Asakawa, “‘We are at the mercy of others’ opinion’: Supporting Blind People in Recreational Window Shopping with AI-infused Technology”, In Proceedings of the 21st International Web for All Conference (W4A ‘24).
This project was supported by Shimizu Corporation.