Evaluation of the preset travel routes in a self-determination support system

The ability to travel is important for disabled persons. It enables participation in social activities. Although there is a wide range of technologies for assisting the visually impaired to travel, they are under utilized. Part of the explanation lies in the behavioral patterns of many visually impaired who venture outdoors very little. To enable and encourage travel we have developed system to select a travel route that is suitable for a visually impaired traveler. The algorithm uses an analytic hierarchy process (AHP): one among the decision making mathematical models, used with a geographic information system (GIS). The preferred or favored demands of the traveler are reflected quantitatively on the travel route selection. Therefore, it is important to prepare the appropriate travel routes before making use of the system. In this paper we evaluated the preset travel route presumed automatically by the system, using 10 sighted participants as preliminary experiments. As a result, it was verified that several travel routes prepared by our system were available for 60% users.