Publication Details

Tactile wayfinding in transportation settings for travelers who are blind or visually impaired: Volume 1: Conduct of research

Type: book

Author(s): O'Brien, Sarah Worth; West, Alyson; Lan, Bo; Scott, Alan C.; Bentzen, Billie Louise; Myers, Linda; Graham, Jennifer; Schroeder, Bastian; Rodegerdts, Lee; Ryus, Paul; Brown, Sarah; Walker, Mark

Publisher: National Academies Press

Url: https://nap.nationalacademies.org/download/27777#

Publication Date: 2025

Volume: 1

Address: Washington, DC

Abstract: Travelers who are blind or visually impaired use a variety of cues and strategies to orient themselves within their surroundings and move through space to where they want to go. This wayfinding process can be particularly challenging in complex urban environments where some cues, such as detectable edge treatments, the sound of surging parallel traffic, or other indicators may be inconsistent, confusing, misleading, or missing. Study Objectives and Scope There are three major objectives to this project:1. Determine through empirical research the detectability, discriminability, and usability ofTWSIs used together in a guide system. 2. Validate the usability of TWSIs with demonstrated detectability and discriminability under avariety of geometric and operational conditions and across a range of diverse transportationsettings. 3. Produce a guide that speaks to a broad audience based on those empirical results that providesconsistency in design, installation, and usability of TWSIs in multimodal environments. Organization of Report Chapter 2 gives an overview of what is known about TWSIs, what standards exist, and whatthe state of the practice is relative to their use primarily in the United States. Supplemental detailsfrom a comprehensive literature review and assessment of the state of the practice is providedin Appendices A and B. Chapter 3 discusses the three experiments conducted to complete theresearch approach and explains the eligibility criteria, recruitment process, and session plansfor study participants. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 provide detailed accounts of the three experimentscompleted—their settings, what was tested and the procedures used, how the data was analyzed,and their findings and conclusions. The data collection sheets used for each experiment are inAppendix C. Chapter 4 focuses on detection and identification trials conducted in a controlledenvironment (experiment 1). Chapter 5 relays experiment 2, which investigated how partici-pants navigated TWSIs in a controlled environment. The third experiment, using and navigatingTWSIs in a natural environment, is laid out in Chapter 6. Finally, Chapter 7 presents conclusionsfrom the project and posits suggestions for further research needed based on gaps identifiedthrough a review of the literature, lingering questions not addressed through this project, andquestions that emerged from the results of the experiments conducted for this project.