Problem Statement: The Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS) would like visually impaired sailors to feel confident navigating Pier 40 independently to sail in San Francisco.
AbilityHacks is a community of people with disabilities and volunteers who work together to create assistive technology solutions. The problem we identified is that visually-impaired sailors struggle to navigate Pier 40 due to varying obstacles and lack of assistive technology.
Given Pier 40’s wide variety of obstacles and unique geographic characteristics like open water sections and parked boats that hang over the docks, our current solution is to pair a visually-impaired sailor with a trusted, seeing-eye guide who can flexibly guide them through any situation. This solution will be the first step towards helping us develop a robust, fully autonomous solution for sailors to navigate without the help of another person.
We interviewed 15 people, each of whom belong to one of two groups: people with visual impairments, and specialists in assistive navigation. In doing so, we were able to hear a range of perspectives from both the users and creators of existing navigational solutions.
The people with visual impairments that we interviewed are from a range of ages, from 19 to 70. Our first interviewees were not sailors, but they provided insights about navigation that helped us in our later interviews with visually impaired sailors from BAADS. From these interviewees, we were able to glean information about the specific challenges of navigating Pier 40.
We spoke with creators of existing solutions including Aira and GoodMaps as well as mobility specialists at various organizations supporting the blind community, such as Lighthouse for the Blind, National Federation of the Blind, Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Braille Institute. These interviews provided useful insights about what’s working, and what’s not.
Then, I took the quotes and group them by general theme to draw connections and observe patterns that emerge across the interviews, keeping the color system (Figure 2). As such, I could see which themes reemerged across a variety of different interviews.
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Lost a significant part of his vision due to autoimmune retinopathy
Works as an author writing a Science Fiction book series
Wants to go jogging outside but fears getting hit by bikes
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Born with low vision
Uses braille textbooks for all her college schoolwork
Likes hanging out with her friends but needs help reading menus, price tags, and signs
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Lost eyesight at age 50 due to age
Avid sailor, can navigate in familiar places with a cane
Wants to go sailing at Pier 40 but can’t get to the dock on his own after getting off the bus
So visually impaired sailors can reach out to people they can rely on for assistance
So they can feel secure knowing they have a plan once they arrive at Pier 40
So our users can meet other sailors and ask for general help about a variety of topics.
They can’t wait for hours at the train stop for someone to come by
Sailors don’t want to carry additional equipment around
Since our users are visually impaired, we need to make sure our app works with screen readers
Our initial prototype was an Uber-like app that could connect blind users with a nearby sighted guide. This would allow them to meet up and guide them in-person, which ensures the safety of the blind person and prevents connectivity issues associated with video call. The limitations of this solution was that there was no ability to plan ahead which may result in the user needing to wait for long periods of time. Given the context of COVID-19, it may also not be safe to meet in-person with random strangers. Moreover, we could not ensure that these were trusted contacts, which leaves the blind especially vulnerable to people with bad intentions.
The next idea we fleshed out was a way to connect users with trusted contacts and see who would be available for calls so that it encourages people to reach out, knowing that there are people willing to help. This improves on existing video call apps as it gives users a compiled list of people they know, instead of random strangers, and it reduces the possibility of having to wait for a person to pick up. Moreover, there is a message board tab where people can post requests or inquiries that do not necessitate a video call. The prototype features an onboarding message that introduces the user to the app. Then, it brings them to a login or sign-up page where they can sign into their account before accessing their contacts list and message board.
We decided to iterate on the video call option due to its flexibility and accuracy as there would be a sighted person guiding the user. We fleshed out the idea further by adding a dashboard with four features: contacts, schedule, bulletin, and options. In the contacts tab, the user would be able to view the availability and relative proximity of their contacts, and video call them directly from the app. In the schedule tab, the user can book specific time slots where they would like a sighted guide. In the bulletin tab, people can respond to others’ time requests and reply to general questions. In the options tab, the user can change their availability status and location settings, and logout of their account.
After meeting with our partner organization AbilityHacks, we received input that a mobile phone solution would not be suitable for the needs of the visually impaired as downloading and onboarding would be barrier all on its own. In the end, we pivoted to a web app solution that involves blind-friendly form to schedule a time and location with a sighted guide from the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS) at Pier 40.
We recognize that our solution is only the beginning of exploration into creating a better way for the low vision community to navigate the world. Ultimately, the low vision community wants an autonomous and independent solution where they don’t need to rely on another individual. Therefore, we see our solution as a necessary precursor as it will provide valuable information on where people can place beacons, sensors, or other signaling devices at Pier 40, what obstacles individuals will have to navigate around, and where and how directions should be given.
