SPATIAL COGNITION OF THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED ON CURVED PATHS

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K04840
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 23030:Architectural planning and city planning-related
• Research Institution: Kansai University
• Principal Investigator: KAMETANI Yoshihiro 関西大学, 環境都市工学部, 教授 (30319610)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 視覚障害者 / 曲面壁 / 空間把握 / 経路探索 / 探索行動

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to clarify the spatial cognition of the visually handicapped in curved wall space, I conducted a walking experiment in the experimental space with the totally blind people and the eye-mask-wearers as subjects. In an experiment in which subjects walked along braille blocks, it was found that both the visually handicapped and the eye-mask-wearers sometimes misidentified a straight path as a curve and a curved path as bending in the opposite direction. Moreover, in an experiment in which the visually handicapped and the eye-mask-wearer walked along a curved wall made of cardboard panels, it was found that it was easier to recognize the route direction by walking along a concave wall.

Free Research Field

建築計画

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

視覚障害者が曲線状の経路を直線状だと誤認すれば、知らず知らずのうちに方向がずれていき、迷ってしまい危険なこともあるが、曲率半径の大小や周辺状況によっては曲折の把握も異なると考えられる。本研究によって、視覚障害者の様々な曲線経路の把握方法や誤認、方向感覚維持が明らかになった。曲線や円形状の経路は、地下街や駅コンコース、大規模ショッピングモール、店舗などの商業空間や劇場、公衆トイレ、会議室、図書館、美術館、さらには体育館等に見られ、大小様々で、単純な構造のものから複雑な構造のものまである。こうした場所での誘導用ブロックの有効な敷設や建物自体の計画・設計における留意点を示すことができると考えられる。