moving forward - r&d in accessible travel, transportation & tourism #atia12

Handouts are available at: www.atia.org/orlandohandouts 1

ECA-20:Moving Forward -

R&D in Accessible Travel, Transportation & Tourism

Bill Curtis-DavidsonIBM Human Ability & Accessibility Center

[email protected]

Friday 27-Jan-2012, 9:20-10:20AM


Learning objectives

1) Participants will be able to list at least one area of R&D that IBM is pursuing to help organizations innovate in the area of accessible and inclusive travel, transportation and tourism.

2) Participants will be able to describe at least one strategy and associated technologies that can be used to leverage geo-data in applications related to accessible and inclusive travel, transportation, tourism.

3) Participants will be able to understand ways they can become more involved in pursuing projects that can help improve the mobility, independence and quality of life for PWDs, the aging, and other people with functional limitations (employees or citizens).


Topics Industry Context

User Needs, Market Drivers, Reports IBM Perspective & Activities

A Heritage of I/T Accessibility Innovation Industry Dialogues Vision & Areas of Activity R&D Examples

Strategies & Technologies Moving Forward... Together!


Industry Context


TourismTravel for recreational, leisure or business purposes... Brings in large amounts of income, opportunities for employment, and opportunities for traveler self-actualization and growth.

TravelMovement of people using different modes of transportation between relatively distant geographical locations...

TransportationMovement of people from one location to another... air, rail, road, water... includes public or private infrastructure, vehicles and operations

Full Inclusion

Co-Design

Cost

Access Amenities

Convenience

Comfort

Safety & Security

Reliability

Base Access

Use of mobile to enable all people to participate fully

Industry Context: User Needs


Public Policy & LawUN ConventionCountry policies / lawsLocal policies / laws

Inclusive TourismUniversal designInclusive not specialEconomic models

Public-PrivateCommunity dialoguesR&D / tech transferOpen innovation

Demographic Shifts & Mobile Market ExpectationPopulation growth: aging / persons with disabilities... and fast-increasing expectation for mobile apps and mobile/location-based services.

Industry Context: Market Drivers


Background July 2010 (ADA 20th Anniversary) White House / FCC / Commerce ~24 technology leaders, disability

advocates, government reps Result: Geo-Access Challenge

Key Outcomes Report on Data-Enabled Travel,

edited by myself Proof-of-Concept / ideation activities Establishment of GeoAccess.org Inspired US FHWA BAA on tech for

wayfinding and navigation

Industry Context: Key Report from GeoAccess.org


Industry Context: GeoAccess.org – Example DataMainstream Public Transit Public Paratransit

Private Transportation

POIs / Environment Info

Static Data from Authorities

• GTFS Feed• Accessible Stations/

Stops• Accessible Vehicles • Contacts / help

• Agency info• Service areas • Fixed routes/stops (if

applicable)• Fares/reservations• Contacts / help

• Community based transport

• Rideshares/ carpools• Accessible taxis• Access info for

private air, rail, bus, ferry stops/vehicles

• Wheelchair rentals

• Accessibility info for POIs

• Accessible municipal infrastructure

Real-Time Data from Authorities

• Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)

• Elevators/escalators• Wheelchair lift status• Vehicle fullness• Congestion/traffic• Predicted arrival


• Vehicle fullness• Congestion/traffic• Predicted arrival• Service alerts• Reservation


• Vehicle fullness• Congestion/traffic• Predicted arrival• Service alerts• Reservation

• Real-time info for Accessible Municipal infrastructure (e.g. closings)

Crowd Sourced Data

• Vehicle fullness • Vehicle issues• Station/stop issues• Service issues• Ratings / reviews



• New or edited POIs• POI ratings/reviews• User generated tags

for municipal infrastructure


Public & private transport options Filtering by disability type Static and real-time info/status (e.g.

network, stations/stops, vehicles, elevators/escalators, lifts)

Factoring in accessible municipal infrastructure info (e.g. crossing signals, curbs, tactile paving)

Accessible route sharing

Multi-Modal Transportation Planning & Execution

Regional Point of Interest (POI) Information Foraging

• Attractions• Disability Services Organizations• Hotels & Lodgings• Nightclubs• Recreation & Tours• Restaurants & Shopping• Accessible Municipal infrastructure

(e.g. crossing signals, curbs, tactile paving)

Apps that Promote Citizen-Science & Co-Design

• Collecting rich media evidence from end users for civic advocacy

• Promoting dialog where users help design the services they use

• Additions, Editing, Ratings, Reviews for accessible transport, municipal infrastructure, and regional POIs

Industry Context: GeoAccess.org – Example Apps


Background Outreach to understand requirements/

examine tech innovations 1-day workshop (Feb 2011) involved experts

from disability orgs, universities, industry Discussed technologies, knowledge gaps and

opportunities, barriers to implementation Key Outcomes

Sept 2011, FHWA report: “Technological Innovations in Transportation for PWDs”

Aims to encourage discussion, R&D in: ITS/Wireless/Mobile Robotics/Artificial Intelligence/Object Detect Navigation/Wayfinding/Orientation/Guidance Universal Design/Accessible Transport

Industry Context: Report from US DoT / FHWA


IBM Perspective & Activities


IBM: A Heritage of I/T Accessibility Innovation 2011 marked IBM’s Centennial Year IBM “Icons of Progress” included

Accessible Workforce Innovating the Self-Service Kiosk Invention of Stream Computing

IBM commitment to diversity drives innovation / differentiation

IBM Research/Human Ability & Accessibility Works in industry to drive discussion, help

develop standards, etc. Works with lines of business to develop

accessible transportation solutions


IBM: Stimulating “Accessible Transport” Dialogue

Year Key Activities

2009 IEEE/IBM “Accessing the Future” Conference

2010 Invited participant, White House ADA Anniversary (GeoAccess) ITS World Congress

2011 Easter Seals Project ACTION, National Paratransit Dialogue Invited participant, US DoT/FHWA Workshop Editor, GeoAccess.org “Report on Data-Enabled Travel” CSUN Session on “Accessible Travel” IBM Centennial “Access My N.Y.C.” Pilot & Smarter Cities Colloquium ITS World Congress & American Public Transport Association

2012 ATIA Conference Presentation CSUN Conference Presentation (forthcoming) G3ict.org Expert Zone/Blog (forthcoming)


• Traveler downloads app from transit authority, disability org, other

• Traveler has option to apply Ability Filter (mobility, vision, hearing)

• Traveler chooses point of origin (near me, address, POI)

• Traveler chooses destination (address, POI)

• System constantly gathers streams of data from multiple public and private transportation sources, municipal infrastructure, etc.

• System analyzes presents route options (filtered by Ability Filter)

• Traveler chooses route option, saves in app

• Traveler loads route; route is re-analyzed by system using real-time data

• Route options are presented if originally saved route has issues (e.g. broken elevator and traveler is mobility impaired)

• Traveler uses app to complete journey

Planning and executing a personalized accessible journey factoring in real-time data

Traveler Scenario

IBM: Accessible Transportation Vision


• Transit Authority collects, aggregates, then makes available public transit real-time data in open formats

• Disability organizations and paratransit partners ensure inclusion of access information for public transport, relevant points of interest (POIs)

• 3rd parties develop apps to support increased ridership and options

• As travelers utilize the transit network, system analyzes usage patterns (e.g. mainstream public transit, paratransit, etc.)

• System also analyzes correlations between situations and events (e.g. broken bus lift, broken elevator, etc.) and traveler choices

• Transit authority uses analytics tools/info to optimize operations

• Transit authority assets (e.g. vehicles, wheelchair lifts, on-board annunciators, etc.) managed using smart asset management tools

Optimizing the traveler experience while encouraging ridership and minimizing transit authority expenses

Transit Authority Scenario

IBM: Accessible Transportation Vision


Help our IBM Government and Travel & Transportation clients realize business value in three key areas as part of our Smarter Cities efforts:

Data & Analytics

Help define data requirements and industry data standards, and pilot new approaches for information management and business analytics and optimization

Traveler Applications

Promote development of advanced traveler applications that employ accessible smarter transportation data (web, kiosk, mobile) and which conform to accessibility standards

Asset Management

Help define accessible transportation asset management requirements and pilot new approaches managing assets and operations

IBM: Key Accessible Transportation R&D Activities


App to support city POI accessibility information foraging

Pilot on Android phones in City of Nettuno, Italy

Helped people find accessibility info about city POIs, filtered by disability type (Ability Filter)

POI accessibility info gathered from authorities, user ratings and reviews

Accessible City Tag

View POI Accessibility Information

Social Ratings

Ability Filter

IBM: Accessible City Tag Pilot in Nettuno, Italy


IBM: Accessible City Tag Screen Shots

6 - Rate the POI 5 - Selected POI Info 4 - Find POIs Near You

3 – Select POI Type2 – Impairment Filter1 – Accessible POIs

Persona: Fallon Smith


IBM: Accessible City Tag Social Data

* The Twitter name, logo, Twitter T, Tweet, and Twitter blue bird are trademarks of Twitter, Inc. in the US and other countries.

Rate &

Share

User-Generated

Content

• Tips• Ratings• Favorites• Twitter® Integration

®

Inquire, suggest, rate, share

Locate

• Accessible websites• Accessible mobile apps

Act

Companies & Access ServicesPOI

Accessibility Database

• Airports• Attractions / Historic Sites• Bus / Ground Transport• Hotels & Lodging• Parks & Recreation• Performing Arts / Museums• Public Transit / Rail• Restaurants• Sports Facilities

Add / update POIs

Add / update companies and services

City/NGO Admin

Website

Citizen/ Traveler Website

Need


IBM: “Access My N.Y.C.” Pilot & Resulting Solution

Access My NYC is a mobile web app that was piloted in Sept & Oct 2011 during IBM's Centennial “THINK” Exhibit. It was designed to support accessible transportation and POI foraging in NYC.


IBM: “Access My N.Y.C.” Screen Shots

Accessible Routes Accessible POIsHome Screen Accessible Transport


IBM: “Access My N.Y.C.” Data Sources & Types

Public Transit NYC Transit Bus & Subway,

LIRR, Metro North RR, Long Island Bus, Bus Company

ADA Compliance Status Accessible Entrances / Exits Real-Time Service, Elevator

and Escalator Status

Transit Authority

Private Transport & Taxis For-Hire Vehicles (black

cars, luxury limos) Taxi Stands

Taxi & Limo

POI Accessibility: Hotels Museums Restaurants Much more…

Disabilities Agency

Private Transportation Rentals (e.g. car, van,

wheelchair) Transfers (e.g. airport,

helicopter, ferry, rail/bus)


The following software and services are being actively developed by our Research, Software and Services teams to meet the industry need for accessible travel, transportation and tourism.

Data & Analytics

Infosphere Information Management Products ITS Toolkit for Infosphere Web Visualization Tools Cognos for Transportation

Traveler Applications

Intelligent Pervasive Platform IBM Access My City Mobile App IBM Accessible Mobile Dev + Test Consulting Streetline Parking Solution

Asset Management

Maximo for Transportation

IBM: Offering Valuable Software & Services


Strategies & Technologies


Strategies Worth Pursuing

1) Open Geo-Access Data

2) Develop Innovative Traveler Apps

3) Embrace Social Business

4) Employ Data Analytics


Strategy 1: Open Geo-Access Data

Strategy Key Considerations Technologies

Collect, aggregate, and maintain data related to accessible travel, transportation and tourism.

Make the data available in open formats to encourage application development.

Public and private transport & POI data, static and real-time

Authoritative vs. crowd-sourced

Government vs. private or closed transport networks (e.g. resorts)

Leadership by / involvement of PWD / advocacy groups

Using standards where possible

Web-based collection and update tools for data owners

Asset management tools can produce system-generated data (e.g. elevators, buses)

Stream computing/“big data” tools required for large volume, changing data (e.g. IBM Infosphere)

Community mapping and data collection (e.g. Open Street Map, Wheelmap, Rick Hansen Global Access Map)


Strategy 2: Develop Innovative Traveler Apps


Develop innovative web and mobile apps either in-house or with 3rd parties.

Ensure that the apps themselves conform to accessibility standards.

Types of apps to support different business needs (e.g. accessible transport, POIs)

Platforms app will run on... e.g. mobile native app vs. web

Network connected and disconnected modes

Specialized AT for specific disabilities vs. broadly useful

Use of established vs. in-process accessibility dev + test techniques

Middleware components (e.g. IBM Intelligent Pervasive Platform)

Dev toolkits for accessible UI (e.g. JQuery Mobile)

Accessibility testing tools

Apps focused on one transport mode (e.g. USF TAD) vs. broad multi-modal (e.g. IBM Access My City)

Specialized HW (e.g. Sendero GPS, Durateq)


Strategy 3: Embrace Social Business


Utilize social software, media and techniques to help achieve business goals – connecting people and resources.

What kind of social functionality can be employed in the app? For example, a mechanism for people to communicate with each other?

Will your application gather data from or send data to external social media (e.g. Twitter)?

Will your app include a feature that allows people to review or rate content?

What kind of privacy policies will be used, and how will these be communicated?

Social collaboration and communication tools including live (synchronous) and asynchronous.

Social tools as source of data (e.g. Tiramisu Transit)

Integration tools for external social media (e.g. Twitter button, Facebook “Like”, etc).

Review and ratings tools that crowdsource info (e.g. JJ's List)


Strategy 4: Employ Analytics (Insight & Optimization)


Employ data analytics tools on collected data to gain insights and optimize travel, transportation and tourism operations.

What business goals do you have?

What insights would be useful in achieving those goals? For example, how many PWDs are using various parts of the transport network?

What kind of analytics would be useful in improving the end-to-end traveler experience? For example, predictive analytics that would help PWDs perform fixed route journey plans with more reliability?

Travel, transport, tourism operator analytics tools (e.g. IBM Intelligent Transport, IBM web-based visualization tools).

Modeling and simulation for travel, transport and tourism operators.

Analytics tools integrated into an application feature – e.g. smarter route planner uses predictive analytics.


Moving Forward... Together!


Moving Forward... Together! Thank you... let's continue the dialogue!

IBM wants to research and pilot innovative technologies with partners and clients

Look for an upcoming blog on Accessible Transport Technologies, which I'll be editing for G3ict

Bill Curtis-DavidsonBusiness Development & Solutions LeaderIBM Human Ability & Accessibility CenterTwitter: https://twitter.com/#!/BCurtisDavidsonEmail: [email protected]


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moving forward - r&d in accessible travel, transportation & tourism #atia12

Technology

accessible travel

area of accessible

private infrastructure

tourism travel

accessible vehicles

inclusive travel

navigation industry

dataenabled travel