"It is fascinating to make these beasts fly": Understanding Visually Impaired People's Motivations and Needs for Drone Piloting
Vinitha Gadiraju, Sanika Moharana, Aisha Azhar, Kimberley Gans, Shane T. Mueller, Jenna L. Gorlewicz · 2021 · Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '21) · doi:10.1145/3441852.3471219
Summary
This paper investigates the motivations, interests, and accessibility needs of blind and visually impaired (BVI) people regarding drone piloting. While drones have been explored as assistive tools for BVI users — helping with navigation, obstacle detection, and environment exploration — prior work has largely overlooked the possibility that BVI individuals might want to pilot drones themselves rather than simply benefit from drone-delivered information. The researchers conducted a two-phase study: an online survey with 59 BVI adults followed by semi-structured interviews with 13 participants. The survey explored participants' familiarity with drones, interest in piloting, preferred use cases, and desired input/output modalities. The interview phase dove deeper into motivations, concerns, and design preferences. Results showed that 89.83% of participants were interested in piloting drones, with motivations spanning aviation enthusiasm, technology curiosity, environment exploration, photography, and collaborative family activities. Using thematic analysis of the interview data, the researchers developed five BVI drone pilot personas: the Family Flyer (motivated by shared experiences with sighted family members), the Environment Explorer (interested in using drones to understand surroundings), the Navigator (wanting drones for wayfinding assistance), the Aviation Enthusiast (drawn to the experience of flight itself), and the Technology Fan (excited by cutting-edge technology). The study provides a foundation for designing inclusive drone interfaces that serve diverse motivations beyond purely assistive functions.
Key findings
The overwhelming majority (89.83%) of BVI participants expressed interest in drone piloting, challenging assumptions that drones for BVI users should focus solely on assistive applications. Voice commands were the most preferred input method (71.18%), followed by game controllers (44.06%), smartphones (38.98%), and tangible block interfaces (33.89%). For feedback, audio was strongly preferred (89.83%), with bone conduction headphones identified as particularly suitable since they keep ears open for environmental awareness. Haptic feedback through wrist vibrations (69.49%) and shoulder vibrations (55.93%) were also popular. Participants expressed interest in diverse drone applications: aerial photography (72.88%), environment exploration (57.62%), and recreational flying (52.54%). Safety was the primary concern, with 67.79% worried about crashing. The five personas revealed that BVI drone interest is not monolithic — motivations range from wanting shared family activities to independent exploration to pure technology enthusiasm. Notably, many participants saw drone piloting as an equalizing activity they could enjoy alongside sighted peers, rather than solely as a compensatory tool.
Relevance
This research challenges the assistive technology paradigm that typically frames technology for disabled users purely in terms of compensating for limitations. By centering BVI people's own motivations and desires for drone piloting, the study demonstrates the importance of inclusive design that supports recreation, curiosity, and social participation — not just functional assistance. The persona-based approach offers a practical framework for designers developing accessible drone interfaces, ensuring diverse user needs are represented. The findings about preferred input modalities (voice, controllers, tangible interfaces) and feedback channels (bone conduction audio, haptic vibrations) provide concrete design guidance applicable beyond drones to any accessible robotics or remote-control interface. For accessibility practitioners, this work reinforces the principle that disabled users should be involved early in technology design as potential operators and enthusiasts, not just passive beneficiaries.
Tags: visual impairment · blindness · drones · assistive technology · accessible interaction · multimodal feedback · inclusive design · user research