Article

PURPOSE: To validate a personalized routing technique with wheelchair users,
understand their route choices and acquire their feedback on the necessity of
wheelchair navigation and the importance of personalized routes. METHOD: A
routing technique using a weighting method, called Absolute Restriction Method
(ARM), was employed to compute personalized routes based on users' routing
preferences. The evaluation involves five manual wheelchair users. The study
protocol consists of three sessions: pre-activity, activity and post-activity
sessions. The evaluation included a comparison between personalized routes and
shortest feasible routes, in terms of route characteristics and users' ratings of
important parameters. RESULTS: Subjects travelled a 14.64% longer distance along
the personalized routes than the shortest feasible routes. However, all
personalized routes had better path quality (slope and surface condition) than
the shortest feasible routes. Four out of five subjects rated the parameters they
deemed most important higher for the personalized route than for the shortest
feasible route. CONCLUSIONS:
The study confirmed that the shortest route
criterion is not always suitable for individuals with mobility impairments.
Personalized routes that take into account individual characteristics, route
preferences and environmental characteristics are a promising solution to lessen
the difficulties that manual wheelchair users face when navigating unfamiliar
environments. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: Wheelchair users indicate the
importance of personalized routes for individuals with mobility impairments. In
regard to evaluation results, although subjects travelled 14.64% more distances
in average along the personalized routes than the shortest feasible routes, they
rated the personalized routes better path quality and less effort to travel.

Langue : ANGLAIS