Title: Non-visual navigation interface for completing tasks with a predefined order using mobile phone: a case study of pilgrimage

Authors: Iyad Abu Doush; Sawsan Alshattnawi; Malek Barhoush

Addresses: Department of Computer Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan ' Department of Computer Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan ' Department of Computer Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan

Abstract: Performing a set of tasks with a predefined order that are place dependent is not an easy task for a blind person. In order to perform such tasks independently, s/he needs to know: where he is, what to do, when to finish, and where to go next without the help of another person. This paper presents a novel method that assists a blind person when performing location-based tasks that need to be completed in a predefined order. As a case study, we applied the proposed presentation method to help a blind person in performing religious rituals. The mobile system uses global positioning system (GPS) coordinates and user touches as input and text-to-speech and vibrations as output. The proposed method is tested with eleven blind users and three non-blind users. The results show that the proposed method can be used efficiently when performing tasks with a predefined order.

Keywords: mobile computing; mobile accessibility; pilgrims; blind people; visually impaired; context aware interfaces; non-visual navigation; mobile phones; cell phones; case study; pilgrimage; predefined task order; location-based tasks; religious rituals; global positioning systems; GPS coordinates; user touches; text-to-speech; vibrations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMNDI.2015.069207

International Journal of Mobile Network Design and Innovation, 2015 Vol.6 No.1, pp.1 - 13

Received: 07 Oct 2014
Accepted: 13 Oct 2014
Published online: 05 May 2015 *

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