STTR Phase II: Creating Accessible Science Museums for Blind and Visually Impaired Visitors with User-Activated Audio Beacons

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will demonstrate the effectiveness of a new system for guiding visitors in science museums and other public spaces. Touch Graphics will design, implement, and evaluate an apparatus that will allow any museum visitor to dial in to, and then interact with, a computerized attendant, using the visitor's own cell phone or one lent to him/her. A special feature will allow blind and visually impaired users to navigate independently by following sounds from environmental audio beacons that they will control by pressing keys on their phones. Once a visitor arrives at the requested exhibit component, his or her phone will serve as an audio explainer and control interface. While the development of this concept has been motivated by the desire to accommodate the needs of visually impaired museum-goers; in Phase II, the small business will configure the system as a mainstream audio guide product that includes optional accessibility features. The small business will create an experimental installation of the envisioned system in a large science museum in New York City, where it will undergo two rounds of human subject testing. As part of this installation, an interactive touch model of rockets that are part of the museum's collection will be designed, fabricated and tested to study the effectiveness of users' cell phones as an accessible control interface for individual exhibit components. The project will also be complemented by a parallel study in which user-activated audio beacon technology is deployed in a different context; a phone-based navigation tool will be implemented and tested as a travel aid for blind and visually impaired bus riders in Austin, Texas who need to find public access information. This user-activitated audio-beacon technology has the potential to improve access to important public resources, particularly science museums for individuals who have been excluded due to disabilities. It seeks to provide opportunities for the blind and visually impaired to experience the enrichment and entertainment offered at hundreds of facilities around the country. These institutions offer opportunities for informal science education that can inspire people to pursue careers in science and technology, and the Nation as a whole stands to benefit when more qualified young people are encouraged to enter these crucial fields. Improved science literacy for all citizens, young or old, is an important goal that this project seeks to promote.