Investigating Ways to Support the Use of Voice Assistants (VAs) among Individuals who are Blind

Abstract

Voice assistants (VAs) (e.g., Apple Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, etc.) offer considerable potential to users. The hands-free nature of these technologies, enables users to perform tasks which would otherwise be difficult to accomplish. As individuals who are blind are already familiar with spoken output through the use of screen readers, it is surmised that mainstream voice interfaces (available on different VA platforms and applications) may serve as a promising modality to support tasks in a variety of settings. My dissertations research draws upon two bodies of work: (1) understanding the interaction experiences of individuals who are blind using VAs, and (2) examining ways these mainstream technologies can support indoor navigation and their information needs. I aim to investigate how VAs can be extended to enhance the indoor navigation experience through airports. These venues present interesting navigational challenges to travelers (e.g., large unfamiliar space, presence of noise and obstacles etc.). The findings of this research contribute to addressing the indoor navigation challenges for individuals who are blind. In addition, there is potential for findings to address the needs of the general population, who may also experience difficulties navigating within these settings.