Making indoor spaces easier to see for people with low vision
Enhancing Visual Accessibility of Indoor Spaces
A smartphone app will show how rooms and objects look for different levels of vision loss and flag indoor hazards so people with low vision and their caregivers can reduce risks.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11171587 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would use a phone app that combines the camera and LiDAR to capture a room and then show a simulated view for a chosen level of vision loss. The app will highlight risky or hard-to-see features like stair edges, low chairs, or poor-contrast signs and produce simple visibility scores for specific objects. Rehab specialists and everyday users can use the results to guide low-cost changes in lighting, contrast, or materials to make a space safer. The project focuses on Android phones so the tool can be widely available for people with visual impairment and their caregivers.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people with low vision, their caregivers, and rehabilitation professionals who want practical guidance on making indoor spaces safer and more usable.
Not a fit: People who are completely blind or whose impairments cannot be improved by better contrast or lighting are unlikely to benefit from visibility-based fixes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help people with low vision avoid falls and navigate indoor spaces more safely by identifying and fixing visibility problems.
How similar studies have performed: Some accessibility apps and computer-vision tools exist, but combining RGB and LiDAR to visualize specific levels of vision loss and produce objective visibility metrics is a relatively new and less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Xiong, Yingzi — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Xiong, Yingzi
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.