Are electronic white canes better than traditional canes? A comparative study with blind and blindfolded participants

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dc.contributor.authorPiculo dos Santos, Aline Darc [UNESP]
dc.contributor.authorMedola, Fausto Orsi [UNESP]
dc.contributor.authorCinelli, Milton Jose
dc.contributor.authorGarcia Ramirez, Alejandro Rafael
dc.contributor.authorSandnes, Frode Eika
dc.contributor.institutionUniversidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
dc.contributor.institutionSanta Catarina State Univ
dc.contributor.institutionUniv Vale Itajai
dc.contributor.institutionOslo Metropolitan Univ
dc.contributor.institutionKristiania Univ Coll
dc.date.accessioned2020-12-10T19:50:41Z
dc.date.available2020-12-10T19:50:41Z
dc.date.issued2020-02-17
dc.description.abstractVisually impaired individuals often rely on assistive technologies such as white canes for independent navigation. Many electronic enhancements to the traditional white cane have been proposed. However, only a few of these proof-of-concept technologies have been tested with authentic users, as most studies rely on blindfolded non-visually impaired participants or no testing with participants at all. Experiments involving blind users are usually not contrasted with the traditional white cane. This study set out to compare an ultrasound-based electronic cane with a traditional white cane. Moreover, we also compared the performance of a group of visually impaired participants (N = 10) with a group of blindfolded participants without visual impairments (N = 31). The results show that walking speed with the electronic cane is significantly slower compared to the traditional white cane. Moreover, the results show that the performance of the participants without visual impairments is significantly slower than for the visually impaired participants. No significant differences in obstacle detection rates were observed across participant groups and device types for obstacles on the ground, while 79% of the hanging obstacles were detected by the electronic cane. The results of this study thus suggest that electronic canes present only one advantage over the traditional cane, namely in its ability to detect hanging obstacles, at least without prolonged practice. Next, blindfolded participants are insufficient substitutes for blind participants who are expert cane users. The implication of this study is that research into digital white cane enhancements should include blind participants. These participants should be followed over time in longitudinal experiments to document if practice will lead to improvements that surpass the performance achieved with traditional canes.en
dc.description.affiliationSao Paulo State Univ, Dept Design, Bauru, SP, Brazil
dc.description.affiliationSanta Catarina State Univ, Dept Design, Florianopolis, SC, Brazil
dc.description.affiliationUniv Vale Itajai, Dept Comp Engn, Itajai, SC, Brazil
dc.description.affiliationOslo Metropolitan Univ, Dept Comp Sci, POB 4,St Olays Plass, N-0130 Oslo, Norway
dc.description.affiliationKristiania Univ Coll, Inst Technol, Oslo, Norway
dc.description.affiliationUnespSao Paulo State Univ, Dept Design, Bauru, SP, Brazil
dc.description.sponsorshipOsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University
dc.description.sponsorshipNorwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education
dc.description.sponsorshipCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
dc.description.sponsorshipIdNorwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education: UTF-2016-long-term/10053
dc.format.extent11
dc.identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10209-020-00712-z
dc.identifier.citationUniversal Access In The Information Society. Heidelberg: Springer Heidelberg, 11 p., 2020.
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s10209-020-00712-z
dc.identifier.issn1615-5289
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11449/196620
dc.identifier.wosWOS:000516304500001
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherSpringer
dc.relation.ispartofUniversal Access In The Information Society
dc.sourceWeb of Science
dc.subjectElectronic cane
dc.subjectMobility
dc.subjectBlind and visually impaired
dc.subjectAssistive technology
dc.subjectExperimental procedures
dc.titleAre electronic white canes better than traditional canes? A comparative study with blind and blindfolded participantsen
dc.typeArtigo
dcterms.licensehttp://www.springer.com/open+access/authors+rights?SGWID=0-176704-12-683201-0
dcterms.rightsHolderSpringer
unesp.author.orcid0000-0003-1974-7916[1]
unesp.author.orcid0000-0002-1816-0016[4]
unesp.author.orcid0000-0001-7781-748X[5]
unesp.departmentDesign - FAACpt

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Bauru - FAAC - Faculdade de Arquitetura, Artes, Comunicação e Design