Towards barrier free society pedestrian

In Japan, there has been a growing call for the establishment of social systems to cope with the issue of rapid population aging. To support their efforts to participate in society, we must reduce the physical and psychological burden that walking imposes on them and have to provide pedestrian environments where elderly and physically impaired people can walk safely and without discomfort. The construction of a barrier-free society through such measures as the legislation of the Traffic Barrier Free Law has become an urgent issue.

1.Level Differences and Signals on Road 76.4% 2.Facilities of Trains and Buses 68.5% 3.Structure of Houses 40.4% 4.Guidance System in public Buildings 29.1% Objects and places that impaired people bed difficulty 　(1997 “Survey of the Opinions of Impaired People” Prime Minister’s Office)

Attributes Freqency of outing per week Elderly (all) 4.4 days Extremely Elderly 3.7 days Handicapped people (all) 3.5 days Physically disabled (not in a wheelchair) 3.8 days Physically disabled (in a wheelchair) 0.9 days Visually disabled (class 1.2) 2.8 days Hearing and speech desabled 4.5 days Number of days/week elderly and impaired people go outdoors (1993 “Survey to enact a model traffic plan for elderly and impaired people, etc.” City of Yokohama)

Need for "ITS for Pedestrian"

Progress has already been achieved in the improvement of roads to provide barrier free pedestrian space by removing level differences on roads and installing elevators or escalators in elevated or underground crosswalks. We are now developing "ITS for Pedestrian" that will create pedestrian environments where the elderly, visually impaired people, and people with impaired lower limbs can walk safely, confidently, and comfortably, by providing information such as the locations of level differences and road crossings etc., and other information that pedestrians need to walk safely, and by guiding them to their destinations and giving them information about barrier free routes.

"ITS for Pedestrian" Services

When working "ITS for Pedestrian" has been completed, it will create the following three categories of information provision services. １．WARNINGS 　　Services that prevent pedestrians from falling off platforms or on stairways, colliding with power poles, etc. and wandering into traffic lanes by attracting their attention to obstacles of these kinds before they reach them. ２．Providing information about the surroundings 　　Services that provide pedestrians with information about their present location and nearby facilities, for example, location of toilets, stations or bus stops. ３．Route guidance 　　Services that guide pedestrians to their destinations.

<click to enlarge>

Research conducted by the Advanced Road Design and Safety Division

Pedestrians’ information needs

The kinds of information that pedestrians need must be understood in detail in order that "ITS for Pedestrian" provides information effectively. To obtain this understanding, the joint research on "ITS for Pedestrian" includes a questionnaire survey and interview survey of people who are visually impaired or suffer from lower limb impairments and elderly people, and observed people in these groups walking in order to investigate their information needs including the content and timing of the information they need while walking.

●Outline of the results of the of the pedestrians’ information needs survey.

１．Visually impaired people feel a need for information in large stations and underground shopping areas with complex structures.

２．Barrier-free routes are important to wheelchair users For example: 　　・Sidewalk width 　　・Existence of level differences, steps, elevators, ramps, etc. 　　・Existence of wheelchair accessible toilets along a route

３．Their greatest fear is falling Situations where visually impaired people sense danger ・Where there are roadside gutters without covers, ponds, and rivers 91.0% ・Where there is a construction work site 88.1% ・Where there is a cross walk without signal lights 79.1% Situations where wheelchair users sense danger ・Where there are stairs or level differences 88.6% ・Where there are steep grades or slopes 81.8%

４．They wish to be informed of toilets and transportation systems Facilities that visually impaired people want to be informed of ・Bus stops 82.1% ・Toilets 80.6% ・Stations 77.6% Facilities that wheelchair users want to be informed of ・Toilets 76.1% ・Stations 61.4%

５．Expectations of "ITS for Pedestrian" are nearly 90% 　"ITS for Pedestrian" route guidance services Want to use it Want to use in some cases Visually impaired 53.7% 38.8% Wheelchair users 31.8% 59.1% Elderly 23.1% 51.5%

Technology that will realize "ITS for Pedestrian"

The following basic technologies are now being developed to realize "ITS for Pedestrian".

●Location identification technology

It is first necessary to accurately identify the user's location when issuing prior cautions and providing navigation assistance. 　　In view of the need to issue prior cautions to the visually disabled and provide them with navigation assistance, the location identification accuracy of existing car navigation systems and other similar systems is not adequate. We must therefore develop more accurate location identification technology.

●Detailed digital maps

The research included a study of the specifications of detailed digital maps containing the information that pedestrians require, so that the system can match the positions of pedestrians to the positions of obstacles to attract their attention to them and to give them route guidance.

●Portable terminals

We are developing portable terminals that can position pedestrians, match their positions to the digital map explained above to attract their attention to obstructions, and that can communicate with the center server explained below.

●Center Server

We are constructing a center server that will search for routes for users and for information about facilities at their locations then transmit these to the portable terminals according to the needs of each user, and will also provide terminals with digital maps for the areas where they are needed.

●Communication technology

We are studying communication methods needed so that pedestrians can download route information, digital maps etc. to their terminals from the center server.

Future plans

After completion of the joint research, technical specifications for the "ITS for Pedestrian" infrastructure equipment will be prepared and practical "ITS for Pedestrian" will be studied by performing public experiments in 2002 in order to achieve our goal of introducing working "ITS for Pedestrian" in 2003.