A Scoping Review of Wayfinding and Navigation Approaches for Supporting Mobility in People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

Independent mobility is essential to the daily lives of the growing population of people who are blind or visually impaired (PBVI). Although research on assistive mobility has expanded rapidly, limitations and challenges identified through empirical evaluations remain insufficiently synthesized. This scoping review examines 50 studies to investigate how PBVI wayfinding and navigation approaches have been empirically evaluated and to synthesize their reported shortcomings. In this review, wayfinding refers to route planning and environmental understanding, whereas navigation refers to real-time movement during travel. Four recurring themes emerged: device appearance, hardware and software performance, user interaction, and integration into daily life. We further identify critical questions that highlight gaps between existing approaches and user expectations. Based on these themes and cross-study implications, we develop a practical checklist that translates concerns from prior evaluations into actionable considerations for the future design and evaluation of assistive mobility technologies for PBVI.