Accessible People Finder Application for Individuals with Visual Impairments

This Phase I project develops an accessible geosocial networking (AGN) application for the iPhone with Voice Over with the goal to connect people with visual disabilities with other people in their proximate environment while employing a revolutionary use of the positioning and connectivity technology built into mainstream cell phones. By capitalizing on the ubiquity of mobile phones with GPS, cell tower positioning, compass, and Bluetooth technology, the AGN application offers a solution using built-in accessibility for both long- and short-range people finding. The result is a program that identifies who is in the vicinity of a person with visual disabilities while combining long- and short-range location technologies. Project objectives include: (1) evaluating mainstream geosocial networking products for accessibility issues and desired features, (2) developing the accessible geosocial networking application for iPhone for locating people in short and long range distances, and (3) analyzing and reporting the success of the developed application in real world situations.