fairfolio
Saved Projects

Blind Navigation: Getting from Point A to Point B

CSEF · 2013 Cognitive Science (Junior Division Only)

Fiona P. Koval · McKinleyville Middle School, McKinleyville, Humboldt County

Overview

Objectives/Goals The purpose of my project was to determine what type of audio cues would help a person navigate in the absence of visual reference points. Methods/Materials The materials used in the experiment included a large field, a 100' measuring tape, flag markers, a blindfold, a set of walkie-talkies, a whistle, and a smartphone with GPS application. Test subjects were blindfolded and asked to walk a straight path to a finish target directly in front of them at the opposite end of the field. During the tests, subjects heard (a) a sound generated at the end target (whistle blast every 5 seconds), (b) verbal instructions to correct to aid subjects in staying on course (i.e., left, right, slight left, slight right or on course every 5 seconds), or (c) no audio cues. Tests were considered complete if the subject was able to successfully reach the end zone of the course (the line at the end of the course parallel to the starting line), without straying out of bounds to either side of the course. Measurements were taken from the finish target to the point subjects crossed into the end zone, or went out of bounds. Results In 100% of the 15 sound generator tests, test subjects successfully crossed into the end zone. The average distance from the finish target in the sound generator tests was 4.3 ft. Subjects successfully completed 78.6%, or 11 of the 14 verbal instruction tests. The average distance from the finish target in the verbal tests was 59.7 ft. Of the 15 control tests (no audio cues), 33.3% were successfully completed. The average distance from the finish target in the control tests was 133.9 ft. Conclusions/Discussion Sound generated at a target end point and verbal instructions can be used to improve ability to navigate where visual cues are unavailable. Sound generator devices outfitted with GPS locators could be used as rescue equipment in areas of dense forests, allowing missing persons to aid in self-rescue by making their way to a sound generator and signaling for help. A smart phone application that uses verbal directions could be created to help blind people navigate when walking in urban areas.

Summary statement

In this experiment, blindfolded test subjects successfully used audio cues to improve navigation toward a set target point.

Help received

My parents drove me to the experiment site and helped in running the tests.

Competition history

  • CSEF 2013 Cognitive Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J0710

Resources

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Browse more like this

Source: California Science & Engineering Fair public projects

Save projects to your library

Sign in with Google to keep track of projects you find interesting, organized into folders. An account also raises your daily allowance for “Has this been done?”, and lets you create a key for the MCP server with a much higher limit than anonymous use. Browsing stays public.

Continue with Google