Article

This paper presents a case study of a virtual reality system (the BlindAid) developed for
orientation and mobility training of people who are newly blind. The BlindAid
allows users to interact with different virtual structures and objects via
auditory and haptic feedback. This case study aims to examine if and how the
BlindAid, in conjunction with a traditional rehabilitation programme, can help
people who are newly blind develop new orientation and mobility methods.
Follow-up research based on this study, with a large experiment and control
group, could contribute to the area of orientation and mobility rehabilitation
training for the newly blind. The case study research focused on A., a woman who
is newly blind, for 17 virtual sessions spanning ten weeks, during the 12 weeks
of her traditional orientation and mobility rehabilitation programme. The
research was implemented by using virtual environment (VE) exploration and
orientation tasks in VE and physical spaces. The research methodology used both
qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, questionnaire,
videotape recording, and user computer logs. The results of this study helped
elucidate several issues concerning the contribution of the BlindAid system to
the exploration strategies and learning processes experienced by the participant
in her encounters with familiar and unfamiliar physical surroundings. [Box: see
text].

Langue : ANGLAIS