Design of Navigation Applications for People with Disabilities: A Review of Literature and Guideline Formulation

Abstract

A mobile navigation application (App) can provide flexible wayfinding guidance, save time, and reduce stress for people in unfamiliar buildings or environments. Wayfinding is also a challenging task for individuals with disabilities. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive set of guidelines for designing navigation apps for individuals with disabilities. A review of the literature was conducted on scientific studies and commercially available navigation apps using Web of Science, Compendex, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, Wiley Online, Science Direct, SpringerLink, Taylor & Francis, Apple store, and Google Play. The findings led to 82 design guidelines categorized based on Nielsen’s usability principles. The guidelines were implemented in an interface prototype to help users navigate places within a shopping mall. The prototype demonstrated that the proposed design guidelines are easily applicable and provided a roadmap for the future design of navigation apps for people with different types of disabilities.

Acknowledgments

Funding for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation [No. CNS-1951864]. The views and opinions expressed are those of authors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, National Science Foundation [No. CNS-1951864].

Notes on contributors

Maryam Zahabi

Maryam Zahabi is an assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering at Texas A&M University and directs the Human-Systems Interaction (HSI) Laboratory. She received her PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from North Carolina State University in 2017.

Xi Zheng

Xi Zheng is a product manager at Wyze. She received her PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from University at Buffalo in 2020 and worked as a post-doctoral researcher in the HSI laboratory at Texas A&M University in 2021.

Azima Maredia

Azima Maredia is an interdisciplinary engineer. She worked in the HSI lab as an undergraduate student and received her B.S. from Texas A&M University in 2021.

Farzaneh Shahini

Farzaneh Shahini is a PhD student in industrial and systems engineering at Texas A&M University. She received her M.S. in industrial and systems engineering from Texas A&M University in 2021.