Is the light on or off?: a simple auditory-based tool to help visually-impaired people check the light device status

Everyday activities and routines should be easy to perform for everyone, including those who are totally blind. This paper introduces a simple audio-based tool aimed at supporting visually-impaired people in checking whether the light in a room is on or off. In this context, we discuss the main issues and considerations for totally blind users with regard to a specific seemingly simple task, which is light detection. The proposed prototype is based on a simple circuit and a form of auditory feedback which informs the user whether they are switching on or off the light. The evaluation conducted by involving blind and sighted people confirmed the usefulness of the proposed tool.