2023
Conference article
Open Access
Haptic-based cognitive mapping to support shopping malls exploration
Paratore M. T., Leporini B.
This paper describes a study, which is currently underway, whose aim is to investigate how the haptic channel can be effectively exploited by visually impaired users in a mobile app for the preliminary exploration of an indoor environment, namely a shopping mall. Our goal was to use haptics to convey knowledge of how the points of interest (POIs) are distributed within the physical space, and at the same time provide information about the function of each POI, so that users can get a perception of how functional areas are distributed in the environment "at a glance". Shopping malls are typical indoor environments in which orientation aids are highly appreciated by customers, and many different functional areas persist. We identified seven typical categories of POIs which can be encountered in a mall, and then associated a different vibration pattern each. In order to validate our approach, we designed and developed a prototype for preliminary testing, based on the Android platform. The prototype was periodically debugged with the aid of two visually impaired experienced users, who gave us precious advice throughout the development process. We will describe how this app was conceived, the issues emerged during its development and the positive outcomes produced by a very early testing stage. Finally, we will show that the proposed approach is promising and is worthy of further investigation.Source: EAI GOODTECHS 2022 - 8th EAI International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good, pp. 54–62, Online event, 16-18/11/2022
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-28813-5_4
Metrics:
Paratore M. T., Leporini B.
This paper describes a study, which is currently underway, whose aim is to investigate how the haptic channel can be effectively exploited by visually impaired users in a mobile app for the preliminary exploration of an indoor environment, namely a shopping mall. Our goal was to use haptics to convey knowledge of how the points of interest (POIs) are distributed within the physical space, and at the same time provide information about the function of each POI, so that users can get a perception of how functional areas are distributed in the environment "at a glance". Shopping malls are typical indoor environments in which orientation aids are highly appreciated by customers, and many different functional areas persist. We identified seven typical categories of POIs which can be encountered in a mall, and then associated a different vibration pattern each. In order to validate our approach, we designed and developed a prototype for preliminary testing, based on the Android platform. The prototype was periodically debugged with the aid of two visually impaired experienced users, who gave us precious advice throughout the development process. We will describe how this app was conceived, the issues emerged during its development and the positive outcomes produced by a very early testing stage. Finally, we will show that the proposed approach is promising and is worthy of further investigation.Source: EAI GOODTECHS 2022 - 8th EAI International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good, pp. 54–62, Online event, 16-18/11/2022
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-28813-5_4
Metrics:
See at:
ISTI Repository 
| link.springer.com 
| CNR ExploRA
2023
Journal article
Open Access
Exploiting the haptic and audio channels to improve orientation and mobility apps for the visually impaired
Paratore M. T., Leporini B.
Orientation and mobility apps for visually impaired people are well known to be effective in improving the quality of life for this target group. A mobile application that guides a visually impaired person step-by-step through a physical space is a valuable aid, but it does not provide an overview of a complex environment "at a glance," as a traditional hard-copy tactile map does. The aim of this study is to investigate whether a smartphone GPS map, enriched with haptic and audio hints, can facilitate cognitive mapping for visually impaired users. Encouraged by a preliminary study conducted in co-operation with two visually impaired volunteers, we designed and developed an Android prototype for exploration of an urban area. Our goal was to provide an affordable, portable and versatile solution to help users increase awareness of an environment through the positions of its landmarks and points of interest. Vibro-tactile and audio hints were linked to the coordinates on the map via the GeoJSON data format and were issued exploiting the text-to-speech and vibration features of the mobile device, as they were displayed through the operating system's APIs. Test sessions and interviews with visually impaired users produced encouraging results. Results, to be verified by more extensive testing, overall confirm the validity of our approach and are in line with results found in the literature.Source: Universal access in the information society (Print) (2023). doi:10.1007/s10209-023-00973-4
DOI: 10.1007/s10209-023-00973-4
Metrics:
Paratore M. T., Leporini B.
Orientation and mobility apps for visually impaired people are well known to be effective in improving the quality of life for this target group. A mobile application that guides a visually impaired person step-by-step through a physical space is a valuable aid, but it does not provide an overview of a complex environment "at a glance," as a traditional hard-copy tactile map does. The aim of this study is to investigate whether a smartphone GPS map, enriched with haptic and audio hints, can facilitate cognitive mapping for visually impaired users. Encouraged by a preliminary study conducted in co-operation with two visually impaired volunteers, we designed and developed an Android prototype for exploration of an urban area. Our goal was to provide an affordable, portable and versatile solution to help users increase awareness of an environment through the positions of its landmarks and points of interest. Vibro-tactile and audio hints were linked to the coordinates on the map via the GeoJSON data format and were issued exploiting the text-to-speech and vibration features of the mobile device, as they were displayed through the operating system's APIs. Test sessions and interviews with visually impaired users produced encouraging results. Results, to be verified by more extensive testing, overall confirm the validity of our approach and are in line with results found in the literature.Source: Universal access in the information society (Print) (2023). doi:10.1007/s10209-023-00973-4
DOI: 10.1007/s10209-023-00973-4
Metrics:
See at:
ISTI Repository | link.springer.com | CNR ExploRA
2023
Report
Restricted
Esposizione multimodale e multimediale interattiva ed inclusiva per le persone con disabilità visiva
Galesi G., Vozna A., Leporini B.
Per consentire al visitatore con disabilità visiva di fruire a pieno della mostra sarebbe molto utile fornirgli una serie di informazioni su come l'esposizione è organizzata e su come si estende fisicamente. Le icone fisiche dovrebbero essere percepibili in modo quasi immediato al tatto, e ciò si può ottenere: - evitando molti dettagli e usando forme molto ben definite nei contorni - evitando di confondere le icone tra loro, ricorrendo a forme differenziate tra loro.Source: ISTI Technical Report, ISTI-2023-TR/004, 2023
DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2023/004
Metrics:
Galesi G., Vozna A., Leporini B.
Per consentire al visitatore con disabilità visiva di fruire a pieno della mostra sarebbe molto utile fornirgli una serie di informazioni su come l'esposizione è organizzata e su come si estende fisicamente. Le icone fisiche dovrebbero essere percepibili in modo quasi immediato al tatto, e ciò si può ottenere: - evitando molti dettagli e usando forme molto ben definite nei contorni - evitando di confondere le icone tra loro, ricorrendo a forme differenziate tra loro.Source: ISTI Technical Report, ISTI-2023-TR/004, 2023
DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2023/004
Metrics:
See at: CNR ExploRA
2023
Bachelor thesis
Open Access
Un pannello multimodale interattivo per la Sala delle Carpe giapponesi del Museo di Storia Naturale dell'Università di Pisa: un esempio di User Experience inclusiva
Zanobini D., Leporini B., Magrini M., Nicolosi P.
Il progetto di tesi verte sulla realizzazione di un pannello espositivo interattivo multimodale da inserire all'interno dell'Acquario del Museo di Storia Naturale dell'Università di Pisa. Il pannello, posizionato nella Sala delle Carpe giapponesi, permette di migliorare l'inclusività e l'accessibilità consentendo una maggiore fruizione dei contenuti museali della sala stessa. Attraverso questo lavoro di tesi è stato possibile creare un connubio tra cultura e conoscenza, in questo caso legate alla Sala delle Carpe giapponesi che grazie, alle tecnologie informatiche esistenti, permetterà così una User Experience più immersiva e appagante per i visitatori del Museo. L'inclusione museale è centrale, al giorno d'oggi, perché permette di ampliare l'accesso alla cultura: questo significa andare incontro, con gli attuali mezzi a disposizione, ai bisogni e alle esigenze degli utenti studiando, ricercando e creando soluzioni che abbiano come fine ultimo la fruizione dei contenuti culturali a livello globale. In questo modo sarà possibile a chiunque avere un'esperienza migliore durante una visita nel Museo di Storia Naturale dell'Università di Pisa. Il pannello interattivo multimodale realizzato, in ultima analisi, vuole essere uno strumento per accrescere la percezione che un visitatore ha del proprio corpo in funzione della scoperta delle informazioni veicolate dalla Sala delle Carpe giapponesi.
Zanobini D., Leporini B., Magrini M., Nicolosi P.
Il progetto di tesi verte sulla realizzazione di un pannello espositivo interattivo multimodale da inserire all'interno dell'Acquario del Museo di Storia Naturale dell'Università di Pisa. Il pannello, posizionato nella Sala delle Carpe giapponesi, permette di migliorare l'inclusività e l'accessibilità consentendo una maggiore fruizione dei contenuti museali della sala stessa. Attraverso questo lavoro di tesi è stato possibile creare un connubio tra cultura e conoscenza, in questo caso legate alla Sala delle Carpe giapponesi che grazie, alle tecnologie informatiche esistenti, permetterà così una User Experience più immersiva e appagante per i visitatori del Museo. L'inclusione museale è centrale, al giorno d'oggi, perché permette di ampliare l'accesso alla cultura: questo significa andare incontro, con gli attuali mezzi a disposizione, ai bisogni e alle esigenze degli utenti studiando, ricercando e creando soluzioni che abbiano come fine ultimo la fruizione dei contenuti culturali a livello globale. In questo modo sarà possibile a chiunque avere un'esperienza migliore durante una visita nel Museo di Storia Naturale dell'Università di Pisa. Il pannello interattivo multimodale realizzato, in ultima analisi, vuole essere uno strumento per accrescere la percezione che un visitatore ha del proprio corpo in funzione della scoperta delle informazioni veicolate dalla Sala delle Carpe giapponesi.
See at:
ISTI Repository | CNR ExploRA
2023
Contribution to conference
Open Access
Thunkable come strumento di sviluppo a supporto dell'accessibilità
Leporini B., Galesi G., Vozna A.
Oggigiorno sono disponibili molti strumenti di end-user development per lo sviluppo rapido di app e siti web. Il supporto dell'accessibilità di tali strumenti non è sempre scontato. In questa sessione si vuol mostrare le funzionalità del framework Thunkable per sviluppare app accessibili e per il supporto all'accessibilità. In particolar modo saranno presentati gli aspetti più rilevanti di Thunkable che potrebbero essere utili nello sviluppo di interfacce utente, nella progettazione di app per l'autonomia, così come nella fruizione di mappe interattive su touch screen. Scopo di questa sessione è quello di presentare, tramite esempi concreti, i risultati ottenuti testando l'uso del framework Thunkable da un punto di vista di accessibilità.Source: Accessibility Days 2023, Roma, Italy, 18-19 maggio 2023
Leporini B., Galesi G., Vozna A.
Oggigiorno sono disponibili molti strumenti di end-user development per lo sviluppo rapido di app e siti web. Il supporto dell'accessibilità di tali strumenti non è sempre scontato. In questa sessione si vuol mostrare le funzionalità del framework Thunkable per sviluppare app accessibili e per il supporto all'accessibilità. In particolar modo saranno presentati gli aspetti più rilevanti di Thunkable che potrebbero essere utili nello sviluppo di interfacce utente, nella progettazione di app per l'autonomia, così come nella fruizione di mappe interattive su touch screen. Scopo di questa sessione è quello di presentare, tramite esempi concreti, i risultati ottenuti testando l'uso del framework Thunkable da un punto di vista di accessibilità.Source: Accessibility Days 2023, Roma, Italy, 18-19 maggio 2023
See at:
accessibilitydays.it | ISTI Repository | CNR ExploRA
2023
Conference article
Closed Access
Making everyday objects more inclusive: a case study via remote participatory design
Leporini B., Buzzi M., Baldini L.
Interacting with everyday objects remains a challenge for blind and visually impaired people who rely on assistive technology. This study investigates how to exploit Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to make everyday objects more accessible for people with visual disabilities, and help create a more inclusive society. A participatory design process including five blind and two visually impaired users was carried out in Italy, exploiting video conferencing tools with the aim of increasing the usability of everyday objects, based on visual interfaces, usually poorly accessible to sightless people. As a case study, a well-known traditional paper-based calendar was selected, since it is a very popular object used at home, at work and in social life. Although digital calendars are very popular nowadays, a tangible paper-based calendar may be more suitable or preferred by users, in specific contexts. Due to people's various needs and preferences, a set of suggestions emerged from this valuable experisence in co-design sessions with technical teams and end users, which can be applied in other contexts where additional information is required .Source: MobiQuitous 2022 - International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems: Computing, Networking, and Services, pp. 583–597, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 14-17/11/2022
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-34776-4_31
Metrics:
Leporini B., Buzzi M., Baldini L.
Interacting with everyday objects remains a challenge for blind and visually impaired people who rely on assistive technology. This study investigates how to exploit Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to make everyday objects more accessible for people with visual disabilities, and help create a more inclusive society. A participatory design process including five blind and two visually impaired users was carried out in Italy, exploiting video conferencing tools with the aim of increasing the usability of everyday objects, based on visual interfaces, usually poorly accessible to sightless people. As a case study, a well-known traditional paper-based calendar was selected, since it is a very popular object used at home, at work and in social life. Although digital calendars are very popular nowadays, a tangible paper-based calendar may be more suitable or preferred by users, in specific contexts. Due to people's various needs and preferences, a set of suggestions emerged from this valuable experisence in co-design sessions with technical teams and end users, which can be applied in other contexts where additional information is required .Source: MobiQuitous 2022 - International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems: Computing, Networking, and Services, pp. 583–597, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 14-17/11/2022
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-34776-4_31
Metrics:
See at:
link.springer.com | CNR ExploRA
2023
Conference article
Open Access
Towards a haptic-based virtual cane to assist blind people in obstacle detection
Leporini B., Raucci M., Rosellini M., Forgione N.
Blind persons rely on the traditional white cane to explore and avoid obstacles while moving independently in indoor and outdoor environments. Although numerous electronic aids have been proposed in the literature and on the market, orienting and moving are still a challenge for people who cannot see. Usually, electronic support devices are used in combination with the stick as blind people consider it a fundamental tool for exploring and getting information about the surrounding. In this paper, a virtual version of the traditional white cane based on the use of a laser sensor, actuators and haptic feedback for obstacle detection is proposed to move towards a single aid for mobility tasks. Although the proposed electronic aid is the first prototype tested in an indoor environment, it is a first step towards a discreet and lightweight virtual cane.Source: PETRA '23 - 16th International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, pp. 10–13, Corfu, Greece, 5-7/07/2023
DOI: 10.1145/3594806.3594864
Metrics:
Leporini B., Raucci M., Rosellini M., Forgione N.
Blind persons rely on the traditional white cane to explore and avoid obstacles while moving independently in indoor and outdoor environments. Although numerous electronic aids have been proposed in the literature and on the market, orienting and moving are still a challenge for people who cannot see. Usually, electronic support devices are used in combination with the stick as blind people consider it a fundamental tool for exploring and getting information about the surrounding. In this paper, a virtual version of the traditional white cane based on the use of a laser sensor, actuators and haptic feedback for obstacle detection is proposed to move towards a single aid for mobility tasks. Although the proposed electronic aid is the first prototype tested in an indoor environment, it is a first step towards a discreet and lightweight virtual cane.Source: PETRA '23 - 16th International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, pp. 10–13, Corfu, Greece, 5-7/07/2023
DOI: 10.1145/3594806.3594864
Metrics:
See at:
dl.acm.org | ISTI Repository | CNR ExploRA
2023
Conference article
Open Access
Investigating the use of the Thunkable end-user framework to develop haptic-based assistive aids in the orientation of blind people
Vozna A., Galesi G., Leporini B.
Nowadays mobile devices are essential tools for visiting cultural heritage sites. Thus, it is very important to provide an inclusive cultural mobile experience for anyone. In this study, we investigate how to create accessible apps to enhance the experience of the visually impaired people in outdoor cultural itineraries. In such a context, the integration of specific features for improving accessibility for blind people may require high skills. This study investigates how it is possible to exploit a simple-to-use developing environment, Thunkable framework, which does not require specific technical competencies, to easily develop an accessible app.Source: WEBIST 2023 - 19TH International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies, Rome, Italy, 15-17/11/2023
Vozna A., Galesi G., Leporini B.
Nowadays mobile devices are essential tools for visiting cultural heritage sites. Thus, it is very important to provide an inclusive cultural mobile experience for anyone. In this study, we investigate how to create accessible apps to enhance the experience of the visually impaired people in outdoor cultural itineraries. In such a context, the integration of specific features for improving accessibility for blind people may require high skills. This study investigates how it is possible to exploit a simple-to-use developing environment, Thunkable framework, which does not require specific technical competencies, to easily develop an accessible app.Source: WEBIST 2023 - 19TH International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies, Rome, Italy, 15-17/11/2023
See at:
ISTI Repository | CNR ExploRA
2023
Conference article
Open Access
Accessibility of e-government websites in Italy: the user experience of people with disabilities
Buzzi M. C., Buzzi M., Della Penna G., Leporini B., Ricci F.
Public Administration services must be accessible for anyone, including people with disabilities who interact via assistive technology. In 2016, the European Union published Directive 2016/2102 with the aim of making such services more accessible to any citizen, regardless of its abilities. This paper investigates the accessibility of e-Government services in Italy from the point of view of people with disabilities: seventy-six users participated in an online survey, and the collected answers have been further refined through semi-structured interviews. Results have been compared with a previous study, showing that the number of services has increased but no substantial improvement in terms of accessibility has been recorded. Simplified interaction and increased efficiency are still lacking, even if global user satisfaction seems to have slightly improved.Source: WEBIST 2023 - 19TH International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies, Rome, Italy, 15-17/11/2023
Buzzi M. C., Buzzi M., Della Penna G., Leporini B., Ricci F.
Public Administration services must be accessible for anyone, including people with disabilities who interact via assistive technology. In 2016, the European Union published Directive 2016/2102 with the aim of making such services more accessible to any citizen, regardless of its abilities. This paper investigates the accessibility of e-Government services in Italy from the point of view of people with disabilities: seventy-six users participated in an online survey, and the collected answers have been further refined through semi-structured interviews. Results have been compared with a previous study, showing that the number of services has increased but no substantial improvement in terms of accessibility has been recorded. Simplified interaction and increased efficiency are still lacking, even if global user satisfaction seems to have slightly improved.Source: WEBIST 2023 - 19TH International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies, Rome, Italy, 15-17/11/2023
See at:
ISTI Repository | CNR ExploRA
2023
Patent
Open Access
Sistema integrato per l'individuazione dei prodotti commerciali facilitando sia la comprensione di quanto scritto su di essi che il loro eventuale acquisto e procedura per la sua utilizzazione
Verdi G., Giunipero L., Quatraro A., Pagliucoli F., Galesi G., Leporini B.
Source: 102021000023432, Nazionale, 2023
Verdi G., Giunipero L., Quatraro A., Pagliucoli F., Galesi G., Leporini B.
Source: 102021000023432, Nazionale, 2023
See at:
ISTI Repository | CNR ExploRA | www.selflens.com
2023
Other
Unknown
Prototipo chatbot
Buzzi M., Grassini E., Leporini B., Vozna A.
Prototipo che simula un agente conversazionale per acquisire informazioni su un ospedale; come caso di riferimento è basato sull'ospedale di Cisanello. Sono state utilizzate librerie di Chat GPT 3, ed è stata prestata particolare attenzione alla interfaccia utente per rendere il processo più semplice all'utente.
Buzzi M., Grassini E., Leporini B., Vozna A.
Prototipo che simula un agente conversazionale per acquisire informazioni su un ospedale; come caso di riferimento è basato sull'ospedale di Cisanello. Sono state utilizzate librerie di Chat GPT 3, ed è stata prestata particolare attenzione alla interfaccia utente per rendere il processo più semplice all'utente.
See at: CNR ExploRA
2023
Conference article
Unknown
Experience of visually-impaired children in the enjoyment of cartoons
Buzzi M., Di Bella D., Gazzarrini C., Leporini B.
Accessing video media by people with visual impairments is still a challenge. Audio descriptions are used as a tool to describe images that cannot be perceived by those who cannot see and cannot be understood from dialogues. The creation of audio descriptions involves (1) modifying the videos in terms of additional audio tracks with the use of tools that require specific skills, and (2) the need to alter the original video, unless the same is directly inserted by the producers. In addition, the structure and language used for audio descriptions are often adult-oriented and less designed for children with visual impairments. In this paper, we propose a solution to provide audio descriptions without editing the original videos. A pilot test with 4 children with visual impairment allowed us to evaluate the audio descriptions prepared for a series of episodes of a cartoon popular among children, and the use of the proposed system.Source: EAI GOODTECHS 2023 - 9th EAI International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good, Leiria, Portugal, 18-20/10/2023
Buzzi M., Di Bella D., Gazzarrini C., Leporini B.
Accessing video media by people with visual impairments is still a challenge. Audio descriptions are used as a tool to describe images that cannot be perceived by those who cannot see and cannot be understood from dialogues. The creation of audio descriptions involves (1) modifying the videos in terms of additional audio tracks with the use of tools that require specific skills, and (2) the need to alter the original video, unless the same is directly inserted by the producers. In addition, the structure and language used for audio descriptions are often adult-oriented and less designed for children with visual impairments. In this paper, we propose a solution to provide audio descriptions without editing the original videos. A pilot test with 4 children with visual impairment allowed us to evaluate the audio descriptions prepared for a series of episodes of a cartoon popular among children, and the use of the proposed system.Source: EAI GOODTECHS 2023 - 9th EAI International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good, Leiria, Portugal, 18-20/10/2023
See at: CNR ExploRA
2023
Conference article
Unknown
Increasing accessibility of online board games to visually impaired people via machine learning and textual/audio feedback: the case of "Quantik"
Battaglini C., Biancalani F., Bottari D., Camurri A., Gnecco G., Leporini B.
Playing board games is commonly recognized as an effective way to promote the integration and socialization of their participants. However, visually impaired people may encounter accessibility issues when playing online versions of board games, for instance, because such versions may have been designed having initially sighted people in mind. Given this premise, the aim of this work is to design an interface aimed to help visually impaired people play board games online, via an improved interaction with a normal or touch screen. This goal is achieved by means of automatic recognition of the portion of the screen one's finger or the cursor is pointing to, its classification via machine learning, and the use of either textual or audio feedback. In this way, a visually impaired person could explore the screen in quite a natural way, obtaining information, e.g., about the positions of the various pieces on the board. As a case study, a preliminary version of the interface is developed to address accessibility of the online version of a carefully selected pure strategy abstract board game, namely "Quantik" from Gigamic.Source: EAI Intetain 2023 - 14th EAI International Conference on Intelligent Technologies for Interactive Entertainment, Lucca, Italy, 27/11/2023
Battaglini C., Biancalani F., Bottari D., Camurri A., Gnecco G., Leporini B.
Playing board games is commonly recognized as an effective way to promote the integration and socialization of their participants. However, visually impaired people may encounter accessibility issues when playing online versions of board games, for instance, because such versions may have been designed having initially sighted people in mind. Given this premise, the aim of this work is to design an interface aimed to help visually impaired people play board games online, via an improved interaction with a normal or touch screen. This goal is achieved by means of automatic recognition of the portion of the screen one's finger or the cursor is pointing to, its classification via machine learning, and the use of either textual or audio feedback. In this way, a visually impaired person could explore the screen in quite a natural way, obtaining information, e.g., about the positions of the various pieces on the board. As a case study, a preliminary version of the interface is developed to address accessibility of the online version of a carefully selected pure strategy abstract board game, namely "Quantik" from Gigamic.Source: EAI Intetain 2023 - 14th EAI International Conference on Intelligent Technologies for Interactive Entertainment, Lucca, Italy, 27/11/2023
See at: CNR ExploRA
2022
Journal article
Open Access
Video conferencing tools: comparative study of the experiences of screen reader users and the development of more inclusive design guidelines
Leporini B., Buzzi M., Hersh M.
Since the first lockdown in 2020, video conferencing tools have become increasingly important for employment, education, and social interaction, making them essential tools in everyday life. This study investigates the accessibility and usability of the desktop and mobile versions of three popular video conferencing tools, Zoom, Google Meet and MS Teams, for visually impaired people interacting via screen readers and keyboard or gestures. This involved two inspection evaluations to test the most important features of the desktop and mobile device versions and two surveys of visually impaired users to obtain information about the accessibility of the selected video conferencing tools. 65 and 94 people answered the surveys for desktop and mobile platforms respectively. The results showed that Zoom was preferred to Google Meet and MS Teams, but that none of the tools was fully accessible via screen reader and keyboard or gestures. Finally, the results of this empirical study were used to develop a set of guidelines for designers of video conferencing tools and assistive technology.Source: ACM transactions on accessible computing (Online) 16 (2022). doi:10.1145/3573012
DOI: 10.1145/3573012
Metrics:
Leporini B., Buzzi M., Hersh M.
Since the first lockdown in 2020, video conferencing tools have become increasingly important for employment, education, and social interaction, making them essential tools in everyday life. This study investigates the accessibility and usability of the desktop and mobile versions of three popular video conferencing tools, Zoom, Google Meet and MS Teams, for visually impaired people interacting via screen readers and keyboard or gestures. This involved two inspection evaluations to test the most important features of the desktop and mobile device versions and two surveys of visually impaired users to obtain information about the accessibility of the selected video conferencing tools. 65 and 94 people answered the surveys for desktop and mobile platforms respectively. The results showed that Zoom was preferred to Google Meet and MS Teams, but that none of the tools was fully accessible via screen reader and keyboard or gestures. Finally, the results of this empirical study were used to develop a set of guidelines for designers of video conferencing tools and assistive technology.Source: ACM transactions on accessible computing (Online) 16 (2022). doi:10.1145/3573012
DOI: 10.1145/3573012
Metrics:
See at:
ISTI Repository | dl.acm.org | CNR ExploRA
2022
Conference article
Open Access
A user-centered approach to artificial sensory substitution for blind people assistance
Barontini F., Bettelani G. C., Leporini B., Averta G., Bianchi M.
Artificial sensory substitution plays a crucial role in different domains, including prosthetics, rehabilitation and assistive technologies. The sense of touch has historically represented the ideal candidate to convey information on the external environment, both contact-related and visual, when the natural action-perception loop is broken or not available. This is particularly true for blind people assistance, in which touch elicitation has been used to make content perceivable (e.g. Braille text or graphical reproduction), or to deliver informative cues for navigation. However, despite the significant technological advancements for what concerns both devices for touch-mediated access to alphanumeric stimuli, and technology-enabled haptic navigation supports, the majority of the proposed solutions has met with scarce acceptance in end users community. Main reason for this, in our opinion, is the poor involvement of the blind people in the design process. In this work, we report on a user-centric approach that we successfully applied for haptics-enabled systems for blind people assistance, whose engineering and validation have received significant inputs from the visually-impaired people. We also present an application of our approach to the design of a single-cell refreshable Braille device and to the development of a wearable haptic system for indoor navigation. After a summary of our previous results, we critically discuss next avenues and propose novel solutions for touch-mediated delivery of information for navigation, whose implementation has been totally driven by the feedback collected from real end-users.Source: ICNR 2020 - 5th International Conference on Neurorehabilitation, pp. 599–603, Online conference, 13-16/10/2020
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-70316-5_96
Metrics:
Barontini F., Bettelani G. C., Leporini B., Averta G., Bianchi M.
Artificial sensory substitution plays a crucial role in different domains, including prosthetics, rehabilitation and assistive technologies. The sense of touch has historically represented the ideal candidate to convey information on the external environment, both contact-related and visual, when the natural action-perception loop is broken or not available. This is particularly true for blind people assistance, in which touch elicitation has been used to make content perceivable (e.g. Braille text or graphical reproduction), or to deliver informative cues for navigation. However, despite the significant technological advancements for what concerns both devices for touch-mediated access to alphanumeric stimuli, and technology-enabled haptic navigation supports, the majority of the proposed solutions has met with scarce acceptance in end users community. Main reason for this, in our opinion, is the poor involvement of the blind people in the design process. In this work, we report on a user-centric approach that we successfully applied for haptics-enabled systems for blind people assistance, whose engineering and validation have received significant inputs from the visually-impaired people. We also present an application of our approach to the design of a single-cell refreshable Braille device and to the development of a wearable haptic system for indoor navigation. After a summary of our previous results, we critically discuss next avenues and propose novel solutions for touch-mediated delivery of information for navigation, whose implementation has been totally driven by the feedback collected from real end-users.Source: ICNR 2020 - 5th International Conference on Neurorehabilitation, pp. 599–603, Online conference, 13-16/10/2020
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-70316-5_96
Metrics:
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ISTI Repository | link.springer.com | CNR ExploRA
2022
Report
Open Access
Un piano di test per l'esplorazione di una mappa digitale su dispositivi mobili tramite canali audio e vibrotattile
Paratore M. T., Leporini B.
Il presente documento descrive l'applicazione "HapticMapTest", sviluppata presso l'ISTI-CNR nell'ambito del progetto "TIGHT: Tactile InteGration for Humans and arTificial systems", e il piano di test che si è deciso di proporre agli utenti per validare le opzioni di interazione offerte dalla app stessa.Source: ISTI Technical Report, ISTI-2022-TR/011, pp.1–11, 2022
DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2022/011
Metrics:
Paratore M. T., Leporini B.
Il presente documento descrive l'applicazione "HapticMapTest", sviluppata presso l'ISTI-CNR nell'ambito del progetto "TIGHT: Tactile InteGration for Humans and arTificial systems", e il piano di test che si è deciso di proporre agli utenti per validare le opzioni di interazione offerte dalla app stessa.Source: ISTI Technical Report, ISTI-2022-TR/011, pp.1–11, 2022
DOI: 10.32079/isti-tr-2022/011
Metrics:
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ISTI Repository | CNR ExploRA
2022
Conference article
Open Access
A software architecture for a personalized and context-aware indoor navigation system
Paratore M. T., Leporini B.
This paper proposes a context-aware model for a mobile indoor navigation system in which users' needs play a key role. We will present an overview of the underlying architecture, describe the main data involved, and show how they are used; we will especially focus on the role of the users' preferences and accessibility needs, since they are the key elements that allow to build a personalized and inclusive user experience. Thanks to a service-oriented architecture, a mobile application will be able to retrieve the most adequate information for its user about a specific point of interest in the environment, and issue a personalized notification. Examples of interaction with the system from the perspective of back-end operators will also be provided, in which we will show how the model entities are translated into practice during the configuration phase of the system. We will pay particular attention to the case of visually impaired users, for whom accessible navigation apps have proven to be effective assistive solutions to achieve better social inclusion and autonomy. We will assume to be using BLE beacons and an Android mobile app for our simulations, anyway we will show that our model is generalizable. Finally, future possible enhancements of the system will be discussed.Source: HCII2022 - 16th International HCII Conference, pp. 509–520, Online Conference, 26/06-01/07/2022
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-05039-8_37
Metrics:
Paratore M. T., Leporini B.
This paper proposes a context-aware model for a mobile indoor navigation system in which users' needs play a key role. We will present an overview of the underlying architecture, describe the main data involved, and show how they are used; we will especially focus on the role of the users' preferences and accessibility needs, since they are the key elements that allow to build a personalized and inclusive user experience. Thanks to a service-oriented architecture, a mobile application will be able to retrieve the most adequate information for its user about a specific point of interest in the environment, and issue a personalized notification. Examples of interaction with the system from the perspective of back-end operators will also be provided, in which we will show how the model entities are translated into practice during the configuration phase of the system. We will pay particular attention to the case of visually impaired users, for whom accessible navigation apps have proven to be effective assistive solutions to achieve better social inclusion and autonomy. We will assume to be using BLE beacons and an Android mobile app for our simulations, anyway we will show that our model is generalizable. Finally, future possible enhancements of the system will be discussed.Source: HCII2022 - 16th International HCII Conference, pp. 509–520, Online Conference, 26/06-01/07/2022
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-05039-8_37
Metrics:
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ISTI Repository | link.springer.com | CNR ExploRA
2022
Bachelor thesis
Unknown
Imparare a leggere con il digitale: progettazione e realizzazione di un e-book didattico-interattivo accessibile per i più piccoli.
Baroni A.
Il progetto presentato prevede lo studio e la creazione di un eBook multimediale, interattivo e accessibile a scopo didattico e di una App mobile. L'obiettivo che si vuole raggiungere attraverso l'utilizzo del libro e dell'applicazione è quello di insegnare a leggere sia a bambini normodotati sia a bambini disturbi del linguaggio, disturbi linguistico cognitivi o deficit dell'attenzione.
Baroni A.
Il progetto presentato prevede lo studio e la creazione di un eBook multimediale, interattivo e accessibile a scopo didattico e di una App mobile. L'obiettivo che si vuole raggiungere attraverso l'utilizzo del libro e dell'applicazione è quello di insegnare a leggere sia a bambini normodotati sia a bambini disturbi del linguaggio, disturbi linguistico cognitivi o deficit dell'attenzione.
See at: CNR ExploRA
2022
Conference article
Open Access
Haptic wearable system to assist visually-impaired people in obstacle detection
Leporini B., Rosellini M., Forgione N.
One of the main difficulties encountered every day by visually-impaired people concerns moving and orienting themselves independently and safely in indoor and especially outdoor environments. Although several studies have been carried out to propose electronic aids to support orientation and mobility tasks, problems continue to exist. In this work, a wearable ultrasonic-based obstacle detector is proposed to give a further contribution to the field. The prototype is designed by paying particular attention to (1) the updating of the components and (2) the use by the blind users. It can be mounted on the user's preferred model of eyeglasses and can be used with or without the traditional white cane.Source: PETRA '22 - 15th International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, pp. 269–272, Corfu, Greece, 29/06-01/07/2022
DOI: 10.1145/3529190.3529217
Metrics:
Leporini B., Rosellini M., Forgione N.
One of the main difficulties encountered every day by visually-impaired people concerns moving and orienting themselves independently and safely in indoor and especially outdoor environments. Although several studies have been carried out to propose electronic aids to support orientation and mobility tasks, problems continue to exist. In this work, a wearable ultrasonic-based obstacle detector is proposed to give a further contribution to the field. The prototype is designed by paying particular attention to (1) the updating of the components and (2) the use by the blind users. It can be mounted on the user's preferred model of eyeglasses and can be used with or without the traditional white cane.Source: PETRA '22 - 15th International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, pp. 269–272, Corfu, Greece, 29/06-01/07/2022
DOI: 10.1145/3529190.3529217
Metrics:
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ISTI Repository | dl.acm.org | CNR ExploRA
2022
Journal article
Open Access
Using haptic feedback to support cognitive mapping in mobile applications for orientation and mobility
Paratore M. T., Leporini B.
The aim of this study, which is currently underway, is to investigate how the haptic channel can be effectively exploited in a mobile app devoted to visually impaired users, for the preliminary exploration of a complex indoor environment, such as a shopping mall.Source: ERCIM news online edition 130 (2022): 20–22.
Paratore M. T., Leporini B.
The aim of this study, which is currently underway, is to investigate how the haptic channel can be effectively exploited in a mobile app devoted to visually impaired users, for the preliminary exploration of a complex indoor environment, such as a shopping mall.Source: ERCIM news online edition 130 (2022): 20–22.
See at:
ercim-news.ercim.eu | ISTI Repository | CNR ExploRA