Co-designing an Accessible Quadruped Navigation Assistant

While there is no replacement for the learned expertise, devotion, and social benefits of a guide dog, there are scenarios in which a robot navigation assistant could be helpful for individuals with blindness or low vision (BLV). This case study investigated the potential for an industrial quadruped robot to perform guided navigation tasks based on a co-design model. The research was informed by a guide dog handler with over 30 years of experience of non-visual navigation. In order to communicate spatial information between the human-robot team, two interface prototypes were created and pilot tested: a voice-based app and a flexible, responsive guide handle. The pilot user study consisted of sighted participants and our BLV co-designer, who completed simple navigation tasks and a post-study survey about the prototype functionality and their trust in the robot. All participants successfully completed the navigation tasks and demonstrated that the interface prototypes were able to pass spatial information between the human and the robot. Findings of this exploratory study will help to inform human-robot teaming and collaboration. Future work will include expanding the voice-based app to allow the robot to directly communicate obstacles to the handler, adding haptic navigation signals to the handle design, and expanding the user study to include a larger sample of experienced guide dog handlers.