Efficacy of Electronic Travel Aids for the Blind and Visually Impaired During Wayfinding

Independent traveling remains challenging for blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals. While the white cane is effective at detecting ground-level obstacles, it provides no information about elevated obstacles or object characteristics. Recent technologies have been designed to support navigation as well as object detection. In our study, we compared the performance of 13 BVI participants who separately used two secondary electronic travel aids (ETAs) versus cane use alone. One ETA was a camera-based mobility vest (NOA), and the other was an ultrasonic sensor-based wearable (BuzzClip). Participants completed an obstacle avoidance task with both ETAs and an object detection task using two versions of NOA’s object-finding functionality. Quantitative performance measures and semi-structured interviews were collected. NOA resulted in enhanced obstacle avoidance. Participants used their canes less and collided less with obstacles when using NOA than the BuzzClip or the white cane alone. NOA resulted in lower frustration and higher perceived performance, as well as greater perceived safety and obstacle detection than the BuzzClip. Object-finding performance outcomes were similar across both versions, suggesting potential benefit from a dynamic combination of approaches tailored for each user. Collectively, these data underscore how ETAs may be integrated into use by the BVI community.