Abstract
The ability to travel is important for disabled persons because it enables them to participate in social activities. Even though there is a wide range of technologies for supporting the visually impaired to travel, many of the technologies are under utilized. Part of the explanation lies in the behavioral patterns of many visually impaired who venture outdoors very little. To encourage travel, we have developed a system that selects travel routes suitable for visually impaired travelers. The algorithm uses an analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-one of many decision-making mathematical models-together with a digital map. The preferred or favored amenities of the traveler are reflected quantitatively in the travel route selection. Therefore, it is important to prepare the appropriate travel routes before making use of the system. In this paper, we asked 10 people with normal vision to quantitatively evaluate the preset travel routes automatically presumed by the system. As a result, it was verified that several travel routes prepared by our system were available for 70% of the users. Finally, we had two visually impaired people qualitatively evaluate the system from the user's viewpoint.
