Emergency Egress and Information System for Persons With Vision Loss

The purpose of the proposed three-year research project is to develop and evaluate an emergency egress system for persons with visual impairment. This system would use existing lighted exit signage to provide egress information at a distance of up to 100 feet. The distance is the same as the required visibility distance of lighted exit signs for sighted persons. By offering egress information at an equivalent distance, the investigators hypothesize that people with visual impairment can approach the egress performance of sighted persons.

The information transmitted will be equivalent to what a sighted person obtains, namely, the direction of the exit door. In addition, a description of the exit route will be provided including the distance to the exit door; lighting conditions, hazards and obstacles that will be encountered on the exit route; the distance down to the street; and where on the street they will be when they get out of the building. A receiver worn by the person will include a tiny optical array to sense the direction of each exit sign. The receiver will also translate the transmitted signal into a spoken message. A low-profile stereo bone conduction headset will indicate the direction to each exit sign along a path to the exit door. For people with some hearing loss, this same low-profile headset will be used to simulate a light "tap" to one side or other of the head to indicate direction. Such directional "tapping" output may also prove effective when loud alarms are blaring.

The objectives are to:

1. develop Talking Exit Lights with a range of at least 100 feet,
2. write software for the user device to accurately indicate the direction of Talking Exit Lights and provide spoken messages,
3. optimize the user interface to make it easy and intuitive to use,
4. test the accuracy and reliability of the developed system in terms of transmission range and directional accuracy, and
5. conduct subject evaluations of the new system.

Two versions of transmitting exit signs will be developed: