HABRI Central

The visually impaired have been a longstanding and wellrecognized user group addressed in the field of Human- Computer Interaction (HCI). Recently, the study of sighted dog owners and their pets has gained interest in HCI. Despite this, there is a noticeable gap in the field with regards to research on visually impaired owners and their dogs (guide dog teams). This paper presents a study that explores the interactions of guide dog teams revealing a rich, holistic understanding of their everyday lives and needs, across both work and leisure activities. Our findings inform and inspire future research and practices suggesting three opportunity areas: supporting working guide dog teams, enhancing play-interaction through accessible dog toys utilizing sensor technologies, and speculative and exploratory opportunities. This work contributes to the growing research on designing for human-canine teams and motivates future research with guide dog teams.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

1. Animal roles
2. Dogs
3. Guide dogs
4. Human-animal interactions
5. Mammals
6. Service animals
7. Teams
8. Visual Impairments