Vibrotactile guidance for trips with autonomous vehicles for persons with blindness, deafblindness, and deafness

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles are becoming a reality with great potential. However, persons with blindness, deafblindness, and deafness, who usually receive information and guidance from the driver, could miss information when travelling in an autonomous car. In this case study, 15 people with hearing and vision impairments explore and compare trips with and without vibrotactile guidance (using Ready-Ride or Ready-Move) in a simulated autonomous vehicle in real traffic (using a Wizard-of-Oz method). The study investigated if vibrotactile aid could enable persons with blindness, deafblindness, and deafness to use autonomous vehicles. Different phases of a trip (before, during, and after) were analysed. The study shows that people with functional impairments such as blindness, deafblindness, and deafness can perform trips independently if given information adapted to their needs through auditory, tactile, or visual information channels. It would be difficult for the target groups to travel without any additional communication aid, such as a vibrotactile guidance aid for all phases of the trip, especially for those with blindness. In all rides with the simulated autonomous car (Wizard-of-Oz set up) without vibrotactile guidance, the driver or assistant (in at least one phase of the trip) had to intervene for the research participants with blindness to complete the trip and continue the study. The study also highlights the usability of the vibrotactile guidance aid and identifies areas in need of improvement.

Keywords

• Autonomous vehicle
• Self-driving cars
• Vibrotactile guidance
• Blindness
• Deafness
• Deafblindness