Abstract: Navigating through unfamiliar environments is a challenging task. For people who are blind or have low vision (BLV), navigation can be particularly daunting. Guide robots are a type of service robot that can assist BLV people with navigation tasks. A significant amount of research related to guide robots has focused on technical contributions, while a dearth of research has centered on exploring the affordances BLV users desire from these robots. We conducted a two-phase user study with 16 BLV participants aimed at identifying features, functions, and behaviors of guide robots that enhance BLV users’ sense of orientation, perceived safety, and comfort. The first phase centered on robot interaction, during which participants were guided by a robot along pre-computed trajectories (detailed in Shih \& Boadi-Agyemang et al., under review). This work focuses on the second phase, which occurred after the participants experienced navigating with a guide robot that exhibited four different behaviors. In this phase, we conducted semi-structured interviews and participatory design (PD) sessions with each of the participants. The PD sessions utilized a scenario-based design (SBD) approach aimed at identifying ideal features and functionality of guide robots and a dialogue-simulated activity to verify these requirements. We identified three key themes that serve as design considerations for future robotic mobility aids for BLV people: (1) features that enhance the usability of guide robot systems, and factors that (2) influence BLV users’ desires for shared robot control and (3) enhance BLV users’ perceived safety in public settings. Our work reiterates the importance of interactive PD approaches, such as SBD, for facilitating accessible idea generation and iteration when working with BLV populations.

Committee:

Dr. Aaron Steinfeld, Advisor

Dr. Henny Admoni

Dr. Nikolas Martelaro

Michelle Zhao