People with visual disabilities and information accessibility for indoor mobility

ABSTRACT

Introdution:

Brazilian accessibility law 10,098 of 2000 establishes norms and criteria to promote accessibility for persons with disabilities. IBGE data from 2013 report that in Brazil out of a total of 146.3 million people over the age of 18, approximately 5.27 million are visually impaired people, equivalent to 3.6%.

Method:

Considering when information is correctly provided, it brings better mobility conditions to visually impaired, this article presents a development proposal of an electronic artifact that provides information on its mobility in any internal physical space, since it provides information on distance, depth and laterality of the environment, being categorized as an auditory map.

Results:

From Information Science perspective, addressing concepts of user study, accessibility and assistive technology, the proposal addresses the challenges of accessing information and also challenges to physical access. The artifact was developed using Dosvox system which is widely used by visually impaired. The University of Brasília Central Library was the physical space chosen as the location contemplated for designing the artifact, as it already has several accessibility resources for information to visually impaired.

Conclusion:

The objective of providing information accessibility through the developed artifact was achieved because it guides visually impaired people in their indoor mobility.

KEYWORDS:
Access to Information; Information users; Disabilities; Information technology