Visual Guidance by Blinking Light of LED Block for Individuals Affected with Low Vision

Approximately 80% of the visually impaired are composed of individuals with low vision. As people with low vision have residual visual acuity, light guidance has been deemed effective. Thus, the authors have developed a light-emitting block that is placed at the entrance to a pedestrian crosswalk to support the visually impaired at night. Generally, blinking light is accepted as a method to selectively distinguish a target light source from an ambient light source. However, on/off blinking lights, such as those used at a road construction site at night, are unsuitable for normal road environments. Therefore, the authors focused on fade-in/fade-out blinking, which gradually brightened and darkened, suppressing inappropriate visual stimulation. Therefore, this study aimed to search for blinking cycles and patterns that ensured visibility while suppressing light stimulation and reducing discomfort.