| Navigating the campus of a large university can be a challenge for many students. Navigation is even more difficult for students who are blind or visually impaired, since they cannot read signage for streets and buildings, or visually locate important focal points on campus. GPS technology, when combined with map databases containing information about streets, pathways, and points of interest can provide this missing information. For this reason, research into implementation of GPS technology for the visually impaired and blind student on the campus was felt to be highly beneficial for both the students and to the University. Implementing a way-finding system that can address future universal design requirements would assist the University in meeting federal regulatory laws for accessibility, and it would allow the students in finding their way around campus. The rationale behind the project was to explore and describe the ways in which GPS technology can assist persons who are blind or visually impaired in navigation and successful destination management on the CSUN campus. This project examined the use of GPS technology combined with narrative descriptions to inform users of the important features of each point of interest, (POI), and to orient the student to the campus real time, (as they are traveling on campus). |