School of Nursing and Midwifery, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.
Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Brain Behav. 2020 Jul;10(7):e01650. doi: 10.1002/brb3.1650. Epub 2020 May 22.
People with visual impairments can experience numerous challenges navigating unfamiliar environments. Systems that operate as prenavigation tools can assist such individuals. This mixed-methods study examined the effectiveness of an interactive audio-tactile map tool on the process of cognitive mapping and recall, among people who were blind or had visual impairments. The tool was developed with the involvement of visually impaired individuals who additionally provided further feedback throughout this research.
A mixed-methods experimental design was employed. Fourteen participants were allocated to either an experimental group who were exposed to an audio-tactile map, or a control group exposed to a verbally annotated tactile map. After five minutes' exposure, multiple-choice questions examined participants' recall of the spatial and navigational content. Subsequent semi-structured interviews were conducted to examine their views surrounding the study and the product.
The experimental condition had significantly better overall recall than the control group and higher average scores in all four areas examined by the questions. The interviews suggested that the interactive component offered individuals the freedom to learn the map in several ways and did not restrict them to a sequential and linear approach to learning.
Assistive technology can reduce challenges faced by people with visual impairments, and the flexible learning approach offered by the audio-tactile map may be of particular value. Future researchers and assistive technology developers may wish to explore this further.
视力障碍者在探索不熟悉的环境时会遇到许多挑战。可以作为预导航工具的系统可以帮助这些人。本混合方法研究考察了一种交互式音频触觉地图工具在认知绘图和回忆过程中的有效性，该工具是在视力障碍者的参与下开发的，他们在整个研究过程中还提供了进一步的反馈。
采用混合方法实验设计。将 14 名参与者分配到实验组，他们接触音频触觉地图，或对照组接触口头注释的触觉地图。在五分钟的接触后，多项选择题检查参与者对空间和导航内容的回忆。随后进行半结构化访谈，以检查他们对研究和产品的看法。
实验组的整体回忆明显好于对照组，在四个被调查的问题领域的平均分数也更高。访谈表明，交互组件为个人提供了以多种方式学习地图的自由，而不是限制他们采用顺序和线性的学习方法。
辅助技术可以减轻视力障碍者面临的挑战，而音频触觉地图提供的灵活学习方法可能具有特别的价值。未来的研究人员和辅助技术开发者可能希望对此进行进一步探索。
