InSight
A smartphone application to help visually impaired users navigate indoors in an easy, efficient, and independent manner.
Business plan and interviews done in collaboration with Neha Jain.
The Problem:
Worldwide, 285 million people are visually impaired and 39 million people are blind [1]. In America alone, there are approximately 21 million blind adults [2]. Through in-person interviews, we were able to identify that one of the key problem areas for the blind and visually impaired was their difficulty navigating indoors. Although there are multiple navigation smartphone applications for the outdoors, indoor navigation applications are lacking in number and popularity.
User Research:
By conducting user research for our previous project, See360, we were able to establish core functionality of our smartphone application for InSight as well. Based on our research, it was evident that users needed both vibrational and auditory alert options for the indoor navigation application.
iBeacon Technology Development:
iBeacon technology utilizes Bluetooth Low Energy to emit a unique identifier. This unique identifier can be used by your smartphone for proximity sensing.
There are three main components of every iBeacon identifier:
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Universally Unique Identifier (UUID)
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Major ID
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Minor ID
In the case of InSight, the UUID is used to identify the building a user is in. The major ID is used to identify the floor number. The minor ID is used to identify the room number. This method is essential, especially when users are navigating in areas with multiple buildings such as hospitals and university campuses.
To test out the accuracy of iBeacon technology for navigating indoors, I programmed two different Thunderboard Sense 2 boards as iBeacons. The first board was kept at default identifier values while the second board was assigned a unique minor ID. Later, the second board was also assigned a unique major ID. The two boards were placed in adjacent offices and the BLEexplr app was used to identify the locations of the iBeacons.
The accuracy of the iBeacon identifier detection was excellent, despite the fact that they were in close proximity.
iPhone Application Prototyping:
To ask for directions, all the user needs to do is tell Siri: "InSight to Dr. Hibbert's Office".
For the layout of the iPhone application, I wanted to ensure that individuals who are blind or visually impaired did not need to actually view the screen to be able to control the application. With that in mind, different button "zones" were established on the phone screen.
The End button was placed on the top right corner. This may prove easier for navigation for users who were once not blind or visually impaired since most Exit buttons are placed on the top left corner of the screen. Pressing on this button zone for 3 seconds exits the application.
Pressing the Panic button for 3 seconds automatically sends your location to your emergency contact. The emergency contact information is entered verbally when setting up the application for the first time.
Pressing the Transportation button for 3 seconds allows you to know transportation options at this location such as busses and their schedules.
Pressing the Verbal Direction button for 3 seconds allows you to audibly hear the directions to your location.
Pressing the Verbal Exploration button for 3 seconds allows you to audibly hear the names of the rooms and offices you are walking by such as "Wellman 200" or "Dr. Hibbert's Office".
Pressing the Vibrational Alert button for 3 seconds is for familiar places where you only want to be alerted by a steady vibration when you have reached your destination.
Sources:
[1] "Visual Impairment and Blindness." World Health Organization. World Health Organization, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2017. <http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/>.
[2] "Research Navigator: Just How Many Blind Folks Are There Anyway?" Research Navigator: Just How Many Blind Folks Are There Anyway? - American Foundation for the Blind. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2017. <http://www.afb.org/info/programs-and-services/public-policy-center/research-navigator-a-quarterly-series-on-research-in-blindness-and-visual-impairment/research-navigator-just-how-many-blind-folks-are-there-anyway/1235>.