Implications of participatory design for a wearable near and far environment awareness system (NaFEAS) for users with severe visual impairments

Abstract

This paper presents experiences from a study that included five users with Severe Visual Impairments (SVIs), fashion designers, and human factors engineers. We used participatory design (PD) to develop a wayfinding and object-recognition system. The PD study consisted of three sessions and was designed to include actual users in the design process. The primary goal of the PD was to validate the system concept and to determine the attributes of system interaction. Two of the three sessions are discussed here. We obtained several insights from a technological perspective, textile and apparel perspective, and user interface design perspective. Among the results identified, users with SVIs preferred to wear assistive technology unless that was not distracting to the participant or those that came into contact with the participant. Auditory feedback was chosen as a primary modality in user interface design, and we realized that constructing a good pool of PD members is essential to transform actual users' needs and requirements into the design process. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.