Closing the Gap: Designing for the Last-Few-Meters Wayfinding Problem for People with Visual Impairments

Despite the major role of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) as a navigation tool for people with visual impairments (VI), a crucial missing aspect of point-to-point navigation with these systems is the last-few-meters wayfinding problem. Due to GPS inaccuracy and inadequate map data, systems often bring a user to the vicinity of a destination but not to the exact location, causing challenges such as difficulty locating building entrances or a specific storefront from a series of stores. We study this problem space in two studies: (1) the formative study aimed at understanding challenges, current resolution techniques, and user needs in this navigational context; and (2) in the design probe study, we developed and used a vision-based system called Landmark AI that provided people with VI different forms of information; we studied their utility in addressing some of the challenges in the last few meters. Based on these investigations, we articulate a design space for systems addressing this challenge, along with implications for future systems to support precise navigation for people with VI.

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