“Another Eye For the Visually Impaired”: A Study Exploring the Experience of Using Camera-based Mobile Assistive Applications

Abstract

More and more visually impaired people rely on assistive technology to live independently, and camera-based applications are a typical technology used to capture and recognize objects. While the researchers have provided ample information on this technology, more studies are needed on user experience. To explore how visually impaired people perceive and resolve the issues in daily use and what factors may affect their usage intention, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 visually impaired participants based in London, and all the data was transcribed through thematic analysis. We identified three main themes in the study: i) recognition, ii) encouragement, and iii) adjustment and change. These interviewees expect to improve their social attributes (identity, interpersonal communication, learning ability) through specific mobile applications. We suggest that the user acceptance of the camera-based app is determined by intrinsic factors (self-ability, emotional needs) and external factors (learning behaviour, attitude).