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Electronic Travel Aids New Directions for Research (1986) / Chapter Skim
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1: Introduction
Pages 4-9

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From page 4...
... Since the 1960s, many have expected that by exploiting the possibilities offered by a burgeoning electronics technology, it should be possible to build an electronic travel aid (ETA) that could provide much of the critical information about space that accounts for the ease of mobility of sighted pedestrians and that is not available to blind pedestrians.
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From page 5...
... Many investigators believe, however, that an initial emphasis on the problems confronting blind pedestrians is the best approach to take in seeking a basic understanding of the mobility problem in general. THE PROBLEM OF MOBILITY FOR BLIND AND VI SUALLY IMPAI RED PEDESTRIANS The Mobility Task The task confronting blind pedestrians is the task of independently traveling from a starting place to a destination.
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From page 6...
... An effect may be overt and observable, as when a person's actions produce some environmental change, or not directly observable and established by inference from its behavioral consequences, as when information acquired by perception is stored in memory. The performance of a task usually requires the production of more than one effect, and its performance usually demands the proper timing and sequencing of effects.
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From page 7...
... If little perceptual anticipation is possible, the time required to plan the actions that will be needed to cope with upcoming situations must be gained by walking more slowly. A pedestrian with some perceptual anticipation afforded by some residual vision, or by a travel aid that provides information about the characteristics of the path some distance ahead, will have more time for planning actions and will therefore be able to walk faster.
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From page 8...
... Component Skill Criteria Indicators of composite performance provide no enlightenment concerning the particular combination of component variables that are responsible for the observed value of the indicator variable. There could be many such combinations, including some in which there are values indicating unacceptably low levels of some of the component skills.
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From page 9...
... 9 and considers the success of environmental sensors in meeting the needs of the visually impaired or blind traveler. Chapter 6 provides a description of the technology of information acquisition and display, highlights the limitations of existing technology, and recommends new directions for the design and development of electronic travel aids.
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Key Terms

  • component skills
  • blind pedestrians
  • blind pedestrian
  • walking speed
  • visually impaired

  • behavioral consequences
  • impaired pedestrians
  • confronting blind
  • travel aid
  • perceptual anticipation

  • directly observable
  • component skill
  • task confronting
  • distance walked
  • independently traveling

  • information acquired
  • measured values
  • composite performance
  • travel aids
  • spatial information

  • electronic travel
  • skill variables
  • counting unintended
  • indicator variable
  • desirable skills

  • component variables
  • performance depends
  • sighted pedestrians
  • composite criterion
  • values indicating


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