[Talk-GB] OpenStreetMap as a data source for visually impaired people

[SK53]

I'm not sure under-researched is the right term.

A blind friend, now dead, was participating as a subject in a research
project on the geographical awareness of blind people back in the 1960s.
Using OSM for providing data and applications for the visually impaired has
been an active subject since at least 2008: see for example
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Category:Visual_Impairment.

I don't have off-hand a list of recent research in the area. I'm sure there
have been a number of undergraduate research projects using OSM data.

However, the major issue generally is actually translating research into
something usable in a practical way by visually impaired people.

The practical constraints I'm aware of:

   - OSM rarely contains enough consistent detail of things like tactile
   paving, existence of pavements, street furniture obstacles, boundary
   features of pedestrian ways etc.
   - The difficulty of keeping the above information up-to-date.
   - OSM generally maps centre lines not the edges of features. Many blind
   people make extensive usage of edges for navigation, but also to ensure
   their safety.
   - The level of detail apparently needed is vast: well beyond what is
   feasible for ordinary mappers to collect.
   - GPS accuracy whilst perfectly adequate for standard routing for
   pedestrians using OSM, may not be accurate enough when the two pavements of
   a road have very different characteristics.

Additionally, as for wheelchair users, it may be that the specific
requirements of each visually impaired user are different.

Probably the area which is most immediately useful is the ability to
produce tactile maps from OSM using 3-D printing. These can be used by
people to gain an awareness of unfamiliar areas. Once again most examples
I'm aware of one-off demonstrations by university researchers or hobbyists
associated with hackspaces.

Jerry



On 25 January 2017 at 15:35, Dave Dowding <davedowding at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
> I'm studying Geographic Information Systems and am doing a dissertation on
> whether OSM data is a good data sources for visually impaired people. The
> evaluation of different geographic data sources for visually impaired
> people seems to be under researched, though very important for those who
> need the data.
> I hope to be able to be able to come up with some ways to improve the OSM
> data for visually impaired people and to create an map to show geographical
> areas where more data is needed.
> To help me with the project I would appreciate your help in filling in a
> survey at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVTB0m1CV6zJ_5ZG9dq0l-
> lAq7KkdsWrnlmdUPq6THoSR3Yw/viewform
> More information about the project can be found at http://dowd.in/diss.htm.
> Any advice or feedback appreciated.
>
> Many Thanks
>
> Dave
>
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>
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