Research into the creation of assistive technologies is increasingly incorporating the use of virtual reality experiments. One area of application is as an orientation and mobility assistance tool for people with visual impairments. Some of the challenges are developing useful knowledge of the user’s surroundings and effectively conveying that information to the user. This thesis examines the feasibility of using virtual environments conveyed via auditory feedback as part of an autonomous mobility assistance system. Two separate experiments were conducted to study key aspects of a potential system: navigation assistance and map generation. The results of this research include mesh models that were fitted to the walk pathways of an environment, and collected data that provide insights on the viability of virtual reality based guidance systems.
","abstract_html":"<p>Research into the creation of assistive technologies is increasingly incorporating the use of virtual reality experiments. One area of application is as an orientation and mobility assistance tool for people with visual impairments. Some of the challenges are developing useful knowledge of the user’s surroundings and effectively conveying that information to the user. This thesis examines the feasibility of using virtual environments conveyed via auditory feedback as part of an autonomous mobility assistance system. Two separate experiments were conducted to study key aspects of a potential system: navigation assistance and map generation. The results of this research include mesh models that were fitted to the walk pathways of an environment, and collected data that provide insights on the viability of virtual reality based guidance systems. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Murphy, Nick"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Computer Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Rongkai Guo","Dr. Kai Qian"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-11-27T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-11-27T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:26Z","subjects":["virtual reality","assistive technology","mixed reality","RSSI","localization","visually impaired","Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/cs_etd/22","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Rongkai Guo","Dr. Kai Qian"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Murphy, Nick"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-01-24T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Computer Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["virtual reality","assistive technology","mixed reality","RSSI","localization","visually impaired","Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/cs_etd/22"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Research into the creation of assistive technologies is increasingly incorporating the use of virtual reality experiments. One area of application is as an orientation and mobility assistance tool for people with visual impairments. Some of the challenges are developing useful knowledge of the user’s surroundings and effectively conveying that information to the user. This thesis examines the feasibility of using virtual environments conveyed via auditory feedback as part of an autonomous mobility assistance system. Two separate experiments were conducted to study key aspects of a potential system: navigation assistance and map generation. The results of this research include mesh models that were fitted to the walk pathways of an environment, and collected data that provide insights on the viability of virtual reality based guidance systems.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Virtual Reality as Navigation Tool: Creating Interactive Environments For Individuals With Visual Impairments"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Rongkai Guo","Dr. Kai Qian"],"dc:creator":["Murphy, Nick"],"dc:date.available":["2019-01-24T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Research into the creation of assistive technologies is increasingly incorporating the use of virtual reality experiments. One area of application is as an orientation and mobility assistance tool for people with visual impairments. Some of the challenges are developing useful knowledge of the user’s surroundings and effectively conveying that information to the user. This thesis examines the feasibility of using virtual environments conveyed via auditory feedback as part of an autonomous mobility assistance system. Two separate experiments were conducted to study key aspects of a potential system: navigation assistance and map generation. The results of this research include mesh models that were fitted to the walk pathways of an environment, and collected data that provide insights on the viability of virtual reality based guidance systems.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/cs_etd/22"],"dc:subject":["virtual reality","assistive technology","mixed reality","RSSI","localization","visually impaired","Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces"],"dc:title":["Virtual Reality as Navigation Tool: Creating Interactive Environments For Individuals With Visual Impairments"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Computer Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:26Z"}