MAPPED: A portable and accessible journey planner for wheelchair users in urban environments

Access to transport and public transportation systems is a key component in ensuring the inclusion and participation of wheelchair users in modern urban societies. MAPPED is a project funded by the European Commissions 6th Framework IST Programme, which aims to develop a portable, hand held system that delivers route finding, journey planning and accessibility information to people with a broad range of disabilities. This system is aimed at providing people with disabilities with access to up to the minute accessibility information delivered to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) that they carry around with them. Such information may include the location of ramps, wheelchair accessible entrances, when the next accessible bus or train is due at a particular stop etc. One, significant role played by the Central Remedial Clinic (CRC) in this project was to identify the User Requirements (UR) and Human Machine Interaction (HMI) elements of the design process. Furthermore, the CRC planned and tested extensive Field Testing of the prototype devices designed during this process. This involved facilitating trials by people with a broad range of physical and sensory disabilities on typical and atypical journeys in an urban environment. This paper will outline the results of the Field Testing, conducted by a cohort of 20 people with disabilities and wheelchair users testing the journey planning and route finding elements of the technology on pre-determined public transport routes throughout Dublin.