Abstract
An experiment was performed to obtain data on the daily walking trait of the blind and visually impaired. This type of data was necessary to design the next experiment to be conducted in simulated environment with various tactile blocks. Forty-six subjects participated in this experiment. They were all the students or teachers from the Tokushima Prefectural School for the Blind. The tasks of the subjects were to walk along tactile blocks at their average daily stride length and speed. The measurements were taken at a school passage and a platform of the nearest railway station. The stride length and walking speed of subjects were measured. As a result of the analysis, it was shown that the height of subject, degree of visual impairment, and the difference of test simulations influenced stride length and walking speed. On the basis of regression analyses, regression equations were proposed to predict the stride length and speed under different conditions. Consequently, it was clarified that stride length was a more preferable measure than speed.
