Information Used by Visually Impaired People While Walking

As part of the efforts to help visually impaired people participate in society, tactile ground surface indicators are installed along roadways in Japan. Recent years have observed the beginning of studies of voice guidance along sidewalks. But, for visually impaired people to actually walk alone to their destinations, they must confirm each intersection and continually check their location against a mental map. It is important to conduct studies to clarify how visually impaired people obtain these kinds of information and what forms of information provision (voice guidance) should be provided to support this process. To this end, this research project involved interviews with 20 visually impaired people concerning the information they use when walking and experiments conducted with the help of 12 visually impaired people to find out which locations along sidewalks require voice guidance. The results revealed that as visually impaired people walk, they confirm their location by means of information ranging from unchangeable features, such as facilities along the route and the shape of the sidewalk, to the sounds and smells of shops they pass. Results also indicated that voice guidance should be provided where two four-lane roads intersect, but that if too many voice guidance points are provided close together, visually impaired people might become confused. It is vital that future road improvement planning incorporate the findings of this study to create spaces where visually impaired people can walk safely and comfortably.