"Seven Stitches Later": A Technologically Interdependent Travel Experience From The Perspective Of A Visually Impaired Individual
Aziz N Zeidieh · 2024 · ASSETS '24: Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility · doi:10.1145/3663548.3688544
Summary
This autoethnographic experience report presents a technologically interdependent travel framework developed from over ten years of first-hand travel experience by the author, a visually impaired individual. The paper's title references a real injury — seven stitches from walking into a low-hanging tree branch — that underscores the physical risks visually impaired travelers face daily. Rather than relying on a single assistive tool, the author describes how he orchestrates an ecosystem of mainstream and specialised technologies throughout a complete travel journey. The proposed framework identifies five pillars of technologically supported travel: orientation (understanding where you are and what surrounds you), communication (exchanging information with people and systems), evaluation (assessing environments for safety and accessibility), navigation (route planning and turn-by-turn guidance), and transportation (accessing and using transit vehicles). The author walks through a naturalistic travel scenario — travelling from home to a conference venue — demonstrating how different tools map to each pillar. For orientation, he uses Be My Eyes and Seeing AI to identify surroundings; for communication, Aira (a human-assisted visual interpretation service) and phone calls; for evaluation, Google Street View previews and AI-based scene description; for navigation, Google Maps, Soundscape (which provides spatial audio beacons), and BlindSquare; and for transportation, rideshare apps and transit apps with accessibility features. The paper emphasises that no single technology covers all five pillars, making technological interdependence — the strategic combination of multiple tools — essential for independent travel.
Key findings
The five-pillar framework reveals that successful travel for visually impaired individuals requires addressing fundamentally different information needs at different stages, and that existing technologies tend to serve only one or two pillars well. Navigation apps provide route guidance but poor environmental evaluation; visual assistance apps support orientation but not transportation logistics. The author documents how he must constantly switch between tools, sometimes using three or four simultaneously (e.g., Soundscape for spatial audio beacons while Google Maps provides turn-by-turn, with Seeing AI ready for reading signs). The interdependence is not just between technologies but also between technology and human assistance — the author describes strategically choosing when to use AI tools versus human-powered services like Aira based on the complexity and stakes of the situation. Pre-trip evaluation emerged as a critical but underserved need: the author extensively uses Google Street View and satellite imagery (with sighted assistance) to mentally map destinations before travelling, reducing uncertainty and risk. The paper honestly documents technology failures — GPS drift in urban canyons, AI misidentifying obstacles, apps crashing at critical moments — and the coping strategies developed in response. The title's "seven stitches" serves as a reminder that technology gaps have real physical consequences.
Relevance
This paper provides invaluable practitioner insight into how assistive technologies are actually used in combination during real-world travel, contrasting with the single-tool focus of most AT research. The five-pillar framework offers AT developers and accessibility practitioners a structured way to evaluate whether their tools address genuine travel needs and to identify gaps in the current technology landscape. For researchers, the framework highlights that solving navigation alone is insufficient — orientation, evaluation, and communication are equally critical and less well served by existing tools. The emphasis on technological interdependence challenges the assumption that any single "killer app" will solve independent travel for visually impaired people; instead, the field should focus on interoperability and seamless switching between tools. The pre-trip evaluation need connects directly to other ASSETS research on accessible previews of transit environments. The autoethnographic methodology demonstrates the depth of insight possible when disabled researchers study their own lived experience, producing knowledge that user studies with external participants may not capture.
Tags: visual impairment · travel · navigation · orientation and mobility · autoethnography · assistive technology · technology interdependence · wayfinding