AlmaWhere: A prototype of accessible indoor wayfinding and navigation system

Delnevo, Giovanni; Monti, Lorenzo; Vignola, Francesco; Salomoni, Paola; Mirri, Silvia

doi:10.1109/ccnc.2018.8319242

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…To solve the issues Fig. 3 Distribution of the analyzed papers according to the type of application/device about architecture compatibility, a few studies illustrate applications for both the operating systems, exploiting also hybrid solutions (e.g., [12,44,100]).…”

Section: Mobile Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The paper [53] presents SmartVision, a system that allows blind users to navigate in the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro campus in Portugal, by providing information about obstacles and POIs like zebra-crossings, building entrances, etc. AlmaWhere [44] combines navigation support for disabled people with information about cultural heritage encountered in ancient buildings belonging to the University of Bologna, Italy, thus creating an accessible tourist guide. Almawhere is based on beacons, which are regarded as a flexible means to provide a rich and invisible context-aware digital signage that can be used in different situations and buildings.…”

Section: Indoor and Outdoormentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Accessible wayfinding and navigation: a systematic mapping study

Prandi

Mirri

Fogli

2021

Univ Access Inf Soc

Self Cite

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Urban environments, university campuses, and public and private buildings often present architectural barriers that prevent people with disabilities and special needs to move freely and independently. This paper presents a systematic mapping study of the scientific literature proposing devices, and software applications aimed at fostering accessible wayfinding and navigation in indoor and outdoor environments. We selected 111 out of 806 papers published in the period 2009–2020, and we analyzed them according to different dimensions: at first, we surveyed which solutions have been proposed to address the considered problem; then, we analyzed the selected papers according to five dimensions: context of use, target users, hardware/software technologies, type of data sources, and user role in system design and evaluation. Our findings highlight trends and gaps related to these dimensions. The paper finally presents a reflection on challenges and open issues that must be taken into consideration for the design of future accessible places and of related technologies and applications aimed at facilitating wayfinding and navigation.

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Section: Mobile Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Indoor and Outdoormentioning

confidence: 99%

Accessible wayfinding and navigation: a systematic mapping study

Prandi

Mirri

Fogli

2021

Univ Access Inf Soc

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Designing and developing native applications is more expensive, time-consuming, and less effective than designing and developing only one mobile application for both of them, but it lets better exploit mobile devices elements, sensors, and functionalities [ 66 ]. Choosing just one of the operating system is not an option: on the one side, Android is currently the most commonly used one; while, on the other side, iOS is the operating system used by all the users with visual impairments, thanks to the great support they provide in terms of a dedicated screen reader, quality and precision of the gesture recognition on the multi-touch screen, etc [ 69 ]. Thus, the best solution, in this sense, seems to be the use of hybrid applications and related development frameworks.…”

Section: Design Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The system architecture has not undergone major changes compared to previous works [ 69 , 73 ]. The data about the buildings are stored in a database on the server.…”

Section: System Walkthroughmentioning

confidence: 99%

On Supporting University Communities in Indoor Wayfinding: An Inclusive Design Approach

Prandi

Delnevo

Salomoni

et al. 2021

Sensors

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Mobility can be defined as the ability of people to move, live and interact with the space. In this context, indoor mobility, in terms of indoor localization and wayfinding, is a relevant topic due to the challenges it presents, in comparison with outdoor mobility, where GPS is hardly exploited. Knowing how to move in an indoor environment can be crucial for people with disabilities, and in particular for blind users, but it can provide several advantages also to any person who is moving in an unfamiliar place. Following this line of thought, we employed an inclusive by design approach to implement and deploy a system that comprises an Internet of Things infrastructure and an accessible mobile application to provide wayfinding functions, targeting the University community. As a real word case study, we considered the University of Bologna, designing a system able to be deployed in buildings with different configurations and settings, considering also historical buildings. The final system has been evaluated in three different scenarios, considering three different target audiences (18 users in total): i. students with disabilities (i.e., visual and mobility impairments); ii. campus students; and iii. visitors and tourists. Results reveal that all the participants enjoyed the provided functions and the indoor localization strategy was fine enough to provide a good wayfinding experience.

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“…Given that the applied route planning algorithms in the literature have been mentioned, which usually is not the case (e.g., [29]), these are mostly shortest path algorithms (e.g., Dijkstra, A*) minimizing travel distance (e.g., [1,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]). In contrast to this practice, scholars disagree with the use of length optimized paths.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Right Track: Comfort and Confusion in Indoor Environments

Vanhaeren

Cock

Lapon

et al. 2020

IJGI

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Indoor navigation systems are not well adapted to the needs of their users. The route planning algorithms implemented in these systems are usually limited to shortest path calculations or derivatives, minimalizing Euclidian distance. Guiding people along routes that adhere better to their cognitive processes could ease wayfinding in indoor environments. This paper examines comfort and confusion perception during wayfinding by applying a mixed-method approach. The aforementioned method combined an exploratory focus group and a video-based online survey. From the discussions in the focus group, it could be concluded that indoor wayfinding must be considered at different levels: the local level and the global level. In the online survey, the focus was limited to the local level, i.e., local environmental characteristics. In this online study, the comfort and confusion ratings of multiple indoor navigation situations were analyzed. In general, the results indicate that open spaces and stairs need to be taken into account in the development of a more cognitively-sounding route planning algorithm. Implementing the results in a route planning algorithm could be a valuable improvement of indoor navigation support.

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AlmaWhere: A prototype of accessible indoor wayfinding and navigation system

Cited by 23 publications

References 19 publications

Accessible wayfinding and navigation: a systematic mapping study

Accessible wayfinding and navigation: a systematic mapping study

On Supporting University Communities in Indoor Wayfinding: An Inclusive Design Approach

On the Right Track: Comfort and Confusion in Indoor Environments

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