Title: Designing Visually Accessible Spaces NIH Program Announcement: 10-234 Bioengineering Research Partnerships (BRP)[R01] Abstract Reduced mobility is one of the most debilitating consequences of vision loss for more than three million Americans with low vision. We define visual accessibility as the use of vision to travel efficiently and safely through an environment, to perceive the spatial layout of key features in the environment, and to keep track of one's location in the environment. Our goal is to create tools to enable the design of safe environments for the mobility of low-vision individuals, including those with physical disabilities, and to enhance safety for older people and others who may need to operate under low lighting and other visually challenging conditions. We plan to develop a computer-based design tool enabling architectural design professionals to assess the visual accessibility of a wide range of environments (such as a hotel lobby, subway station, or eye-clinic reception area). This tool will simulate such environments with sufficient accuracy to predict the visibility of key landmarks or hazards, such as steps or benches, for different levels and types of low vision, and for spaces varying in lighting, surface properties and geometric arrangement. Our project addresses one of the National Eye Institute's program objectives: """"""""Develop a knowledge base of design requirements for architectural structures, open spaces, and parks and the devices necessary for optimizing the execution of navigation and other everyday tasks by people with visual impairments."""""""" Our research plan has three specific goals: 1) Empirical: determine factors that influence low-vision accessibility related to hazard detection and navigation in real-world spaces. 2) Computational: develop working models to predict low vision visibility and navigability in real-world spaces. 3) Deployment: translate findings from basic vision science and clinical low vision into much needed industrial usage by producing a set of open source software modules to enhance architectural and lighting design for visual accessibility. The key scientific personnel in our partnership come from three institutions: University of Minnesota -- Gordon Legge and Daniel Kersten;University of Utah -- William Thompson and Sarah Creem-Regehr;and Indiana University -- Robert Shakespeare. This interdisciplinary team has expertise in the necessary areas required for programmatic research on visual accessibility -- empirical studies of normal and low vision (Legge, Kersten, Creem-Regehr, and Thompson), computational modeling of perception (Legge, Kersten, and Thompson), computer graphics and photometrically accurate rendering (Thompson &Shakespeare) and architectural lighting design (Shakespeare). We have collaborative arrangements with additional architectural design professionals who will participate in the translation of our research and development into practice.

Public Health Relevance

Reduced mobility is one of the most debilitating consequences of vision loss for more than three million Americans with low vision. We define visual accessibility as the use of vision to travel efficiently and safely through an environment, o perceive the spatial layout of key features in the environment, and to keep track of one's location in the environment. Our BRP partnership, with interdisciplinary expertise in vision science, computer science and lighting design, plans to develop computer-based tools enabling architecture professionals to assess the visual accessibility of their designs.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01EY017835-06A1
Application #
8630772
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (BNVT)
Program Officer
Wiggs, Cheri
Project Start
2007-03-01
Project End
2019-02-28
Budget Start
2014-03-01
Budget End
2015-02-28
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$595,880
Indirect Cost
$132,102
Name
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
555917996
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Country
United States
Zip Code
55455
Barhorst-Cates, Erica M; Rand, Kristina M; Creem-Regehr, Sarah H (2017) Let me be your guide: physical guidance improves spatial learning for older adults with simulated low vision. Exp Brain Res 235:3307-3317
Thompson, William B; Legge, Gordon E; Kersten, Daniel J et al. (2017) Simulating visibility under reduced acuity and contrast sensitivity. J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis 34:583-593
Legge, Gordon E; Chung, Susana T L (2016) Low Vision and Plasticity: Implications for Rehabilitation. Annu Rev Vis Sci 2:321-343
Barhorst-Cates, Erica M; Rand, Kristina M; Creem-Regehr, Sarah H (2016) The Effects of Restricted Peripheral Field-of-View on Spatial Learning while Navigating. PLoS One 11:e0163785
Legge, Gordon E; Granquist, Christina; Baek, Yihwa et al. (2016) Indoor Spatial Updating With Impaired Vision. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 57:6757-6765
Legge, Gordon E; Gage, Rachel; Baek, Yihwa et al. (2016) Indoor Spatial Updating with Reduced Visual Information. PLoS One 11:e0150708
Chung, Susana T L; Legge, Gordon E (2016) Comparing the Shape of Contrast Sensitivity Functions for Normal and Low Vision. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 57:198-207
Rand, Kristina M; Creem-Regehr, Sarah H; Thompson, William B (2015) Spatial learning while navigating with severely degraded viewing: The role of attention and mobility monitoring. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 41:649-64
Qin, Xiaoyan; Bochsler, Tiana M; Aizpurua, Alaitz et al. (2014) Incidental memory of younger and older adults for objects encountered in a real world context. PLoS One 9:e99051
Legge, Gordon E (2014) Prentice medal lecture 2013: visual accessibility: a challenge for low-vision research. Optom Vis Sci 91:696-706

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