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Enhancing the mental representations of space used by blind pedestrians, based on an image schemata model

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Abstract

The configuration of mental representation of space plays a major role in successful navigational activities. Therefore, navigational assistance for pedestrians who are blind should help them to better configure their mental representation of the environment. In this paper, we propose and exploit a computational model for the mental representation of urban areas as an aid to orientation and navigation for visually impaired pedestrians. Our model uses image schemata to capture the spatial semantics and configural elements of urban space necessary for this purpose. These image schemata are schematic structures that are continually requested by individuals in their perception, bodily movement and interaction with surrounding objects. Our proposed model also incorporates a hierarchical structure to provide different levels of detail tied to appropriate spatial perspectives at each scale. We presume that such computational model will help us to develop an appropriate structure of spatial data used to assist the target population. At the end of the paper, we illustrate the utility of our configural model by developing a typical scenario for the navigation of a blind pedestrian in an urban area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de recherche en géomatique (CRG), Université Laval, Pavillon Louis-Jacques-Casault, 1055, avenue du Séminaire, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Reda Yaagoubi, Geoffrey Edwards, Thierry Badard & Mir Abolfazl Mostafavi

  2. Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et integration sociale (CIRRIS), Université Laval, CIRRIS-IRDPQ, 525, boul. Hamel, bureau H-1312, Quebec City, QC, G1M 2S8, Canada

    Reda Yaagoubi, Geoffrey Edwards & Mir Abolfazl Mostafavi

  3. Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Geomatics, Université Laval, Pavillon Louis-Jacques-Casault, 1055, avenue du Séminaire, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Geoffrey Edwards

Authors
  1. Reda Yaagoubi
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  2. Geoffrey Edwards
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  3. Thierry Badard
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  4. Mir Abolfazl Mostafavi
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Correspondence to Reda Yaagoubi.

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Yaagoubi, R., Edwards, G., Badard, T. et al. Enhancing the mental representations of space used by blind pedestrians, based on an image schemata model. Cogn Process 13, 333–347 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-012-0523-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-012-0523-3

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