  While there is no replacement for the learned expertise, devotion, and social
benefits of a guide dog, there are cases in which a robot navigation assistant
could be helpful for individuals with blindness or low vision (BLV). This study
investigated the potential for an industrial agile robot to perform guided
navigation tasks. We developed two interface prototypes that allowed for
spatial information between a human-robot pair: a voice-based app and a
flexible, responsive handle. The participants (n=21) 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 the interface prototypes were able to pass
spatial information between the human and the robot. Future work will include
expanding the voice-based app to allow the robot to communicate obstacles to
the handler and adding haptic signals to the handle design.
