Hiking for people with visual impairments

Background

People with visual impairments are often dependent on a companion when engaging in physical activity. This can be difficult to enable as it requires resources, e.g. in the form of finances, time, knowledge and physical ability of the companion. This is a problem for people of all ages. There are also large costs associated with companionship for society. 

If digital companionship can be used in certain cases, it can lead to reduced dependence on companions, while at the same time it can lead to more physical activity for the visually impaired. For example, through hiking, both near the city and out in nature. It is likely that society's costs can also be reduced through improved health and possibly less need for companions.

Purpose

The purpose of the project is to promote equal conditions for physical activity by contributing to offering digital accompaniment. Since Östersund and the surrounding area have very good opportunities for sports and outdoor activities, we want to contribute to making hiking for people with visual impairments more independent and accessible. In this project, this is done by evaluating digital accompaniment on a number of selected walking paths and hiking trails in Östersund Municipality. 

The goal of the study is to evaluate the performance and safety of digital accompaniment on a number of selected walking paths and hiking trails in Östersund Municipality. The project is carried out in collaboration between Sports Tech Research Centre and Nordic Evolution AB.