Abstract
People who are blind and visually impaired (BVI) primarily rely on white canes for everyday mobility. Smart canes were introduced to address the limitations of traditional white canes and to inform users of their surroundings more efficiently. While the smart cane’s advantages are evident, these devices are not used often in the BVI community. To gain a better understanding of the low adoption rate, we spoke with orientation and mobility specialists for some background on BVI mobility, conducted a survey to gauge user awareness and initial perceptions of the smart cane, and interviewed 16 participants for an in-depth view regarding their smart cane experiences. While most of the participants’ apprehension was based on initial product cost, we found that other factors like user personality, durability, battery life, experience bias, as well as the lack of awareness from the users all contribute to the low adoption rate of smart canes. As such, our findings are structured based on four main themes: (1) Impact of Participant Characteristics on Adoption, (2) Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages, (3) Product-Related Concerns, and (4) Building Trust. We contribute a user-centered investigation on the merits of the smart cane and suggestions for future design considerations based on user feedback.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
10 fascinating facts about the white cane. https://www.perkins.org/stories/10-fascinating-facts-about-the-white-cane. Accessed 26 Mar 2021
Bawa cane. https://www.bawa.tech. Accessed 26 Mar 2021
Guiding eyes FAQ. https://www.guidingeyes.org/about/faqs/. Accessed 26 Mar 2021
Smartcane overview. http://smartcane.saksham.org/overview/. Accessed 26 Mar 2021
Ultracane. https://www.ultracane.com/ultracane. Accessed 26 Mar 2021
Wewalk smart cane for visually impaired and blind people. https://wewalk.io/en/. Accessed 26 Mar 2021
Akash, S., Rahman, M.: QFD-based smart cane design: a technology to assist visually impaired. Int. J. Bus. Anal. Intell. 6(1), 25 (2018)
Asad, S., Mooney, B., Ahmad, I., Huber, M., Clark, A.: Object detection and sensory feedback techniques in building smart cane for the visually impaired: an overview. In: Proceedings of the 13th ACM International Conference on Pervasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, pp. 1–7 (2020)
Branig, M., Engel, C.: Smartcane: an active cane to support blind people through virtual mobility training. In: Proceedings of the 12th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, pp. 327–328 (2019)
Buchs, G., Simon, N., Maidenbaum, S., Amedi, A.: Waist-up protection for blind individuals using the eyecane as a primary and secondary mobility aid. Restorative Neurol. Neurosci. 35(2), 225–235 (2017)
Chen, Q., Khan, M., Tsangouri, C., Yang, C., Li, B., Xiao, J., Zhu, Z.: CCNY smart cane. In: 2017 IEEE 7th Annual International Conference on CYBER Technology in Automation, Control, and Intelligent Systems (CYBER), pp. 1246–1251. IEEE (2017)
Deverell, L., et al.: Use of technology by orientation and mobility professionals in Australia and Malaysia before covid-19. Disability Rehabil. Assistive Technol. 1–8 (2020)
Guerrero, J.C., Quezada-V, C., Chacon-Troya, D.: Design and implementation of an intelligent cane, with proximity sensors, GPS localization and GSM feedback. In: 2018 IEEE Canadian Conference on Electrical & Computer Engineering (CCECE), pp. 1–4. IEEE (2018)
Hogan, C.L.: Stigma, embarrassment and the use of mobility aids. Int. J. Orientation Mob. 5(1), 49–52 (2012). https://doi.org/10.21307/ijom-2012-009
Hollyfield, R.L., Foulke, E.: The spatial cognition of blind pedestrians. J. Vis. Impairment Blindness 77(5), 204–210 (1983)
Khan, I., Khusro, S., Ullah, I.: Technology-assisted white cane: evaluation and future directions. Peer J. 6, e6058 (2018)
Kim, S.Y., Cho, K.: Usability and design guidelines of smart canes for users with visual impairments. Int. J. Des. 7(1) (2013)
Lindley, J., Coulton, P., Sturdee, M.: Implications for adoption. In: Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 265–277. CHI 2017, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA (2017). https://doi.org/10.1145/3025453.3025742, https://doi-org.ezproxy.rit.edu/10.1145/3025453.3025742
Maidenbaum, S., et al.: The ’eyecane’, a new electronic travel aid for the blind: technology, behavior & swift learning. Restorative Neurol. Neurosci. 32(6), 813–824 (2014). https://doi.org/10.3233/RNN-130351
Manduchi, R., Kurniawan, S.: Watch your head, mind your step: mobility-related accidents experienced by people with visual impairment. Dept. Comp. Eng., Univ. California, Santa Cruz, Tech. Rep (2010)
Martinez, M., Constantinescu, A., Schauerte, B., Koester, D., Stiefelhagen, R.: Cognitive evaluation of haptic and audio feedback in short range navigation tasks. In: Miesenberger, K., Fels, D., Archambault, D., Peňáz, P., Zagler, W. (eds.) ICCHP 2014. LNCS, vol. 8548, pp. 128–135. Springer, Cham (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08599-9_20
Megalingam, R.K., Nambissan, A., Thambi, A., Gopinath, A., Nandakumar, M.: Sound and touch based smart cane: better walking experience for visually challenged. In: 2014 IEEE Canada International Humanitarian Technology Conference-(IHTC), pp. 1–4. IEEE (2014)
Messaoudi, M.D., Menelas, B.A.J., Mcheick, H.: Autonomous smart white cane navigation system for indoor usage. Technologies 8(3), 37 (2020)
Milallos, R., Tibdewal, V., Wang, Y., Ogueh Udegbe, A., Oh, T.: " would the smart cane benefit me?": perceptions of the visually impaired towards smart canes. In: The 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, pp. 1–3 (2021)
MP Hoogsteen, K., A. Osinga, S., LPA Steenbekkers, B., FA Szpiro, S.: Functionality versus inconspicuousness: attitudes of people with low vision towards OST smart glasses. In: The 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility. ASSETS 2020, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA (2020). https://doi.org/10.1145/3373625.3418012, https://doi-org.ezproxy.rit.edu/10.1145/3373625.3418012
Nasser, A., Keng, K.N., Zhu, K.: Thermalcane: exploring thermotactile directional cues on cane-grip for non-visual navigation. In: The 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility. ASSETS 2020, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA (2020). https://doi.org/10.1145/3373625.3417004, https://doi-org.ezproxy.rit.edu/10.1145/3373625.3417004
Pariti, J., Oh, T.: Understanding the hand and wrist strains caused by smart cane handles with haptic notification. In: The 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility. ASSETS 2020, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA (2020). https://doi.org/10.1145/3373625.3418028,https://doi-org.ezproxy.rit.edu/10.1145/3373625.3418028
Roentgen, U.R., Gelderblom, G.J., Soede, M., De Witte, L.P.: Inventory of electronic mobility aids for persons with visual impairments: a literature review. J. Vis. Impairment Blindness 102(11), 702–724 (2008)
Routson, R.L., Bailey, M., Pumford, I., Czerniecki, J.M., Aubin, P.M.: A smart cane with vibrotactile biofeedback improves cane loading for people with knee osteoarthritis. In: 2016 38th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), pp. 3370–3373. IEEE (2016)
Saaid, M.F., Mohammad, A., Ali, M.M.: Smart cane with range notification for blind people. In: 2016 IEEE International Conference on Automatic Control and Intelligent Systems (I2CACIS), pp. 225–229. IEEE (2016)
Sakhardande, J., Pattanayak, P., Bhowmick, M.: Smart cane assisted mobility for the visually impaired. Int. J. Electr. Comput. Eng. 6(10), 1262–1265 (2012)
dos Santos, A.D.P., Ferrari, A.L.M., Medola, F.O., Sandnes, F.E.: Aesthetics and the perceived stigma of assistive technology for visual impairment. Disability Rehabil. Assistive Technol. 1–7 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2020.1768308
Shinohara, K., Wobbrock, J.O.: In the shadow of misperception: assistive technology use and social interactions. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 705–714. CHI 2011, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA (2011). https://doi.org/10.1145/1978942.1979044
Strong, P.: The history of the white cane (2009)
Wahab, M.H.A., et al.: Smart cane: assistive cane for visually-impaired people. arXiv preprint arXiv:1110.5156 (2011)
Yoo, D., Ernest, A., Serholt, S., Eriksson, E., Dalsgaard, P.: Service design in HCI research: the extended value co-creation model. In: Proceedings of the Halfway to the Future Symposium 2019, pp. 1–8 (2019)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Milallos, R., Tibdewal, V., Wang, Y., Udegbe, A., Oh, T. (2022). An Exploratory Study on the Low Adoption Rate of Smart Canes. In: Antona, M., Stephanidis, C. (eds) Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. User and Context Diversity. HCII 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13309. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05039-8_36
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05039-8_36
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-05038-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-05039-8
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)