Towards a theory of spatial assistance from a phenomenological perspective
Published: 2011
Publication Name: Extended Poster Abstracts from the Conference on Spatial Information Theory (COSIT'11)
Abstract:
Abstract: There is a long history of providing assistive technology to blind persons. In the spatial domain, most of this effort has focused, however, on low-level mobility cues (e.g., avoiding obstacles) and has been developed from the third-person engineering perspective. We argue that improving independence and navigation abilities without vision requires a broader context that encompasses spatial awareness as well as awareness of how the person and the environment in which they are acting are dynamically coupled. We maintain that study of first-person experiences (based on phenomenological methods) can and should be developed to identify maximally useful information and to guide designers of new technical devices promoting environmental access and spatial behavior. This argument is rooted in the phenomenological recognition that spatial experience is not akin to an independent object positioned in a container-like space, but rather arises through a person’s way of being-in-the-world.
Citation: Jacobson, K.E., Giudice, N.A., & Moratz R. (2011). Towards a theory of spatial assistance from a phenomenological perspective: Technical and social factors for blind navigation. In R. Moratz & N.A. Giudice. (Eds.) Extended Poster Abstracts from the Conference on Spatial Information Theory (COSIT 2011), PP. 33-36. Belfast, ME.