In many regions, governments are motivating increased bicycle ridership by designing new and improving existing bicycle infrastructure. Cycle highways are an effective and cost-efficient type of bicycle-specific infrastructure that are designed to provide a functional connection between places where people work, go to school and live. One important element of developing high quality cycle highways is the development of an effective wayfinding system which allows current, potential, and new users to clearly identify and navigate a bicycle network. The wayfinding design standards used for conventional bicycle infrastructure may not be compatible for cycle highways, which encourage cyclists to travel at relatively higher speeds. This may warrant introducing specific wayfinding signage compatible for this new type of bicycle infrastructure. This study uses qualitative analysis including field observations, ride-along videos, and semi-structured interviews, to assess electrically assisted pedal bicycle (e-bike) users' opinions and experiences with wayfinding signage along a pilot cycle highway route located between Tilburg and Waalwijk in the Netherlands. In the summer of 2018, base-line observations and interviews were administered with twelve e-bike users who were unfamiliar with the route to assess their experiences with conventional signage for cyclists before changes were made to the wayfinding system. Follow-up observations were held in the fall, after the installation of two new pilot wayfinding systems that were specifically designed to accommodate cycle highway users. Initial findings suggest that the changes made to the location, size and clarity of the signage improve cyclists' overall experiences, and that cyclists' perceptions of the built environment are important. Specifically, it became easier for users to navigate the route, their overall travel related stress decreased, and several participants perceived shorter travel times. Policy makers and transportation planners are likely to be interested in the results of this study as they reveal how specific improvements to wayfinding along cycle highways not only help improve navigation, but also positively influence cyclists' overall comfort and stress.
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Traditional turn-by-turn navigation approaches often do not provide sufficiently detailed information to help people with a visual impairment (PVI) to successfully navigate through an urban environment. To provide PVI with clear and supportive navigation information we created Sidewalk, a new wayfinding message syntax for mobile applications. Sidewalk proposes a consistent structure for detailed wayfinding instructions, short instructions and alerts. We tested Sidewalk with six PVI in the urban center of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Results show that our approach to wayfinding was positively valued by the participants.
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People with a visual impairment (PVI) often experience difficulties with wayfinding. Current navigation applications have limited communication channels and do not provide detailed enough information to support PVI. By transmitting wayfinding information via multimodal channels and combining these with wearables, we can provide tailored information for wayfinding and reduce the cognitive load. This study presents a framework for multimodal wayfinding communication via smartwatch. The framework consists of four modalities: audio, voice, tactile and visual. Audio and voice messages are transmitted using a bone conduction headphone, keeping the ears free to focus on the environment. With a smartwatch vibrations are directed to a sensitive part of the body (i.e., the wrist), making it easier to sense the vibrations. Icons and short textual feedback are viewed on the display of the watch, allowing for hands-free navigation.
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Travelling independently in an urban environment is challenging for people with a visual impairment (PVI). Current Wayfinding-apps lack detailed environmental information and are often not fully accessible. With the aim to design a wayfinding solution that facilitates independent travel and incorporates PVI needs and wishes, we deployed a cocreation design approach with PVI and professionals as co-creators. Our combination of different co-creation techniques and iterative prototyping expands the related research on wayfinding solutions and allowed us to zoom-in on specific features. Our approach started with a userrequirements analysis through selfexperience sessions, observations and focus groups. This was followed by iterative prototyping with user evaluations in controlled indoor and outdoor environments. Over a period of two years we created an accessible wayfinding solution in co-creation with 31 PVI and 19 professionals. This resulted in an optimized accessible interface, a personalized route, personalized wayfinding instructions and detailed orientation and environmental information. Lessons learned for co- design with PVI included setting up an accessible workshop environment, applying diverse evaluation methods and involving reoccurring participants.
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Background: Construction work, squares, busy sidewalks, road crossings and hasty cyclists - these are just a few of the many challenges visually impaired people (VI) encounter when navigating through urban environments. Especially unknown routes require so much concentration and energy, that VI often choose to stay at home or to travel with assistance. The EyeBeacons project investigates how a wayfinding smartphone app for VI can support independent travel.Methods: Two clickable prototypes of a wayfinding app for VI were created based on the user-requirements from a pilot study. The first app contained many personalization options for route planning, while the second app used pre-defined user profiles (wizard) to create personal routes. Both apps were evaluated in a co-creation workshop of 16 participants, consisting of VI (6), VI care professionals (5) and UX/ICT experts (5). During the workshop, several UX design tools (e.g., customer journey maps) were used to evaluate the apps.Findings: Our preliminary results show that both apps were considered to have additional value for VI’s current route planning and wayfinding practices. Surprisingly, the first app, which offered many personalization options but consequently included more interaction steps, was preferred over the optimized wizard design of the second app. The main reason for this choice, was the limited insight on the reasoning behind route selection. Key features that participants missed in both prototype apps included for example, a function to repeat navigation cues on request.Discussion: This study provides valuable new insights for the design of wayfinding apps that allow VI to navigate safely and independently through challenging urban environments. Furthermore, we found that co-creation works well with the target group using common UX design methods as long as some extra facilitation is provided to the VI. By using clickable prototypes, both VI and professionals were able to experience and evaluate the design prototypes.
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Visually impaired people (VIP) can experience difficulties in navigating urban environments. They mostly depend on the environment’s infrastructure or technical solutions like smartphone apps for navigation. However apps typically use visual and audio feedback, which can be ineffective, distracting and dangerous. Haptic feedback in the form of vibrations can complement where visual and audio fall short, reducing the cognitive load.Existing research into wayfinding using haptic feedback to better support navigation for the visually impaired often relies on custom tactile actuators and the use of multiple vibration motors. Although these solutions can be effective, they are often impractical in every day life or are stigmatizing due to their unusual appearance.To address this issue we propose a more modular system that can be easily integrated in commercially available smartwatches. Based on existing research we present a tactile communication method utilizing the vibrotactile actuator of a smartwatch to provide VIP with wayfinding information that complements visual and audio feedback. Current smartwatches contain a single tactile actuator, but can still be used by focusing on navigation patterns. These patterns are based on research in personal orientation and mobility training with VIP. For example, a vibration pattern is used to represent a concept like ‘attention’, ‘left’ or ‘stairs’ directing the navigator’s attention towards audio or visual information or to the environment.In next phase of this research we will conduct several focus groups and co-creation sessions with VIP and orientation and mobility experts to further specify the requirements and test our proposed tactile method. In the future, this method could be integrated in existing navigation apps using commercially available devices to complement visual and audio information and provide VIP with additional wayfinding information via haptic feedback.
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Werken sociale robots echt op de winkelvloer? Maken klanten er gebruik van en wat vinden zij van de robot? En hoe kijken winkelmedewerkers tegen de robot aan? Ewout Nas, Tibert Verhagen, Jacqueline Arnoldy, Stephanie van de Sanden (HvA) en Koen Hindriks (VU Amsterdam) zochten het uit.Het is voor winkeliers essentieel dat klanten de juiste producten in hun winkel kunnen vinden. Naast traditionele bewegwijzering bij gangpaden en de inzet van plattegronden, zijn het vooral medewerkers die klanten de weg wijzen. Door een schaarste aan winkelmedewerkers en de werkdruk op de winkelvloer, komen winkelmedewerkers hier echter lang niet altijd meer aan toe. Sociale robots bieden hier mogelijk een oplossing: ze kunnen klanten zelfstandig naar de gewenste producten brengen. Klopt dat?
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With the rise of innovation and entrepreneurship as avenues for journalists to take in their search for journalistic work, we need to critically interrogate how these terms are understood. Various journalism institutions are pushing a particular understanding of journalism, and of what constitutes meaningful and innovative journalism. In this paper, we review the literature on these themes and draw on experimental research done by one of the authors to argue for a more process-oriented approach to journalistic innovation and entrepreneurship. As a researcher-maker, one of the authors created an innovative journalistic project and tried to develop a business model for this project. She participated in an accelerator process organised by one of the main funds aimed at journalism innovation in the Netherlands. We show that one existing, and prevalent, understanding of innovation in journalism is one that is linear, rational and outcome-oriented. We challenge this understanding and draw on process-oriented theories of innovation to introduce the concepts of effectuation, improvisation and becoming as new lenses to reconsider these phenomena. These concepts provide clearer insight into the passionate and improvisational nature of doing innovative journalistic work.
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