MN Transportation Research Collaboration Site

Deploy and Test a Smartphone Based Accessible Traffic Information System for the Visually Impaired

We have developed a smartphone-based accessible pedestrian system to support wayfinding and navigation for people with vision impairment at both signalized and un-signalized intersections. A digital map was also created to support the wayfinding app. Our system allows a visually impaired pedestrian to receive signal timing and intersection geometry information from a smartphone app for wayfinding assistance. A beacon ...more »

Submitted by cliao (@chenfu) on 15th May 2017

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Idea Submitted by : Chen-Fu Liao

List your MnDOT Office,District,City, County, Univ. or Other : University of Minnesota

Idea Champion - Who at MnDOT/LRRB? : Steve Misgen and Cory Johnson

Why is this a priority and what are the benefits for the State/County/City? :

An increasing number of Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) have been installed at new or upgraded intersections to assist people with vision impairment to navigate streets. For un-signalized intersections and intersections without APS, people with vision impairment have to reply on their own orientation and mobility skills to gather necessary information to navigate to their destinations. This proposed approach will allow state, county, or local agencies to provide a more complete and accessible solution to the visually impaired community, thus improving their mobility and independence in using the transportation system. Furthermore, this project will evaluate the efficacy of VPN to provide a secure wireless environment for communicating with traffic signal controllers. In addition, our approach can also be applied for providing the visually impaired with sidewalk workzone bypass or bus arrival information at bus stops.

Project Type - MnDOT or LRRB / Research, Implementation or TRS : MnDOT Research

Idea Status (this will be updated by the moderator) : Need Statement #502