Utility of a Mobile Route Planning App for People Aging with Disability

Sanford, Jon; Melgen, Sarah; Guhathakurta, Subhrajit; Zhang, Ge

Title:

Utility of a Mobile Route Planning App for People Aging with Disability

dc.contributor.author	Sanford, Jon
dc.contributor.author	Melgen, Sarah
dc.contributor.author	Guhathakurta, Subhrajit
dc.contributor.author	Zhang, Ge
dc.contributor.corporatename	Georgia Institute of Technology. Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA)	en_US
dc.contributor.corporatename	Georgia Institute of Technology. Center for Graphic Information Systems	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2019-07-03T15:22:04Z
dc.date.available	2019-07-03T15:22:04Z
dc.date.issued	2018
dc.description	Copyright © IARIA, 2018	en_US
dc.description.abstract	Mobility is a key contributor to an individual’s community living and participation. As a result, outdoor environmental barriers, such as uneven sidewalks and no curb cuts, play a crucial role in the development of disability and loss of independence among individuals aging with mobility and vision limitations. To compensate, people with disabilities typically plan routes before going out. However, they often lack the appropriate street-level information about the environment to plan routes that meet their abilities and needs for safety and accessibility (e.g., the location of curb cuts and crosswalks). As a result, the real impediment to outdoor mobility is not the actual barriers, but the lack of information about those barriers for route planning. To provide the street-level information about barriers that would maximize the independent living and community participation of people with mobility disabilities, the project team developed a working prototype of the Application for Locational Intelligence and Geospatial Navigation (ALIGN) based on static graphical information systems (GIS) data (e.g., physical infrastructure, slope, crime rates and land uses). This study details the utility testing of the application with individuals aging with mobility and vision limitations by using direct observation, think-aloud and open-ended questionnaires. Findings indicate that participants found the application to be potentially useful, especially in unfamiliar locations. However, testing also indicated a number of refinements, including multimodal input and outputs that would enhance the utility of the initial prototype. Additional design criteria will inform the next prototype, including use of consistent audio/visual feedback, and simpler directions. These criteria will be applied to create a more usable application for the target population.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Sanford, J.A.., et al. (2018) “Utility of a Mobile Route Planning App for People Aging with Disability”. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Universal Accessibility in the Internet of Things and Smart Environments (SMART ACCESSIBILITY 2018), pp. 12-17.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1853/61476
dc.publisher	IARIA	en_US
dc.subject	Mobile wayfinding	en_US
dc.subject	Assistive technology	en_US
dc.subject	Aging in place	en_US
dc.title	Utility of a Mobile Route Planning App for People Aging with Disability	en_US
dc.type	Text
dc.type.genre	Proceedings
dspace.entity.type	Publication
local.contributor.author	Guhathakurta, Subhrajit
local.contributor.corporatename	Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technologies to Support Aging-in-Place for People with Long-Term Disabilities
relation.isAuthorOfPublication	158276b2-e708-499f-9e77-c1b4715285ca
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	beb39be5-dd4e-4cbd-810d-8b5f852ba609