“It is fascinating to make these beasts fly”: Understanding Visually Impaired People's Motivations and Needs for Drone Piloting

Abstract

Drones have become fixtures in commerce, safety efforts, and in homes as a leisure activity. Researchers have started to explore how drones can support people with disabilities in piloting and serve as assistive devices. Our work focuses on people with vision impairment and investigates what motivates them to fly drones. We administered a survey to visually impaired adults that gauged general interest in drone piloting and previous experience with drones. From the 59 survey responses, we interviewed 13 participants to elaborate on how they envision using drones and how different feedback and modes of piloting can make the flying experience more accessible. We found that our participants had overarching interests in aviation, trying new technology, environment exploration, and finding collaborative activities to do with their sighted family members, which extended to an interest in piloting drones. This research helps lay groundwork for design scenarios and accessible features for future drones.