Enhancing Accessible Navigation: A Fusion of Speech, Gesture, and Sonification for the Visually Impaired.

Outdoor navigation often poses significant challenges for blind individuals due to the lack of accessibility features. Public accessibility systems often overlook the needs of the blind, leading to exclusionary experiences. Blind individuals frequently rely on alternative senses, such as creating mental maps, to navigate known spaces. Even commonplace activities like using transportation can be complex, requiring the blind to map known places with maneuvers made by the driver. Integrating a speech and gesture-based interface within accessibility frameworks is a crucial step towards inclusivity and improved user experiences. This approach offers alternative interaction methods beyond traditional graphical interfaces, empowering individuals with diverse abilities to navigate outdoor environments effortlessly. By implementing multi-modal feedback interfaces, our effort aims to create an intuitive interaction method that seamlessly provides navigation instructions, guiding users step-by-step along their routes. We prioritize minimizing cognitive load and architectural complexities by designing a notification system that complements the user's actions without causing distraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]