Evaluating the Visibility of Architectural Features for People with Low Vision -A Quantitative Approach.

Most people with low vision rely on their remaining functional vision for mobility. Our goal is to provide tools to help design architectural spaces in which safe and effective mobility is possible by those with low vision---spaces that we refer to as . We describe an approach that starts with a 3D CAD model of a planned space and produces labeled images indicating whether or not structures that are potential mobility hazards are visible at a particular level of low vision.

Validating a model of architectural hazard visibility with low-vision observers.

Pedestrians with low vision are at risk of injury when hazards, such as steps and posts, have low visibility. This study aims at validating the software implementation of a computational model that estimates hazard visibility. The model takes as input a photorealistic 3D rendering of an architectural space, and the acuity and contrast sensitivity of a low-vision observer, and outputs estimates of the visibility of hazards in the space.

Simulating visibility under reduced acuity and contrast sensitivity.

Architects and lighting designers have difficulty designing spaces that are accessible to those with low vision, since the complex nature of most architectural spaces requires a site-specific analysis of the visibility of mobility hazards and key landmarks needed for navigation. We describe a method that can be utilized in the architectural design process for simulating the effects of reduced acuity and contrast on visibility. The key contribution is the development of a way to parameterize the simulation using standard clinical measures of acuity and contrast sensitivity.