Analysis of Building Accessibility Using Inertial and Optical Sensors

Abstract

The inclusive use of urban spaces necessitates detailed knowledge of the accessibility of public buildings or places where educational, health or administrative services are provided. Despite the improvements already made in many cities regarding architectural work, further changes to public buildings and other spaces, such as old buildings or areas of historical importance, are still required. To study this problem, we developed a model based on photogrammetric techniques and the use of inertial and optical sensors. The model allowed us to perform a detailed analysis of urban routes in the surroundings of an administrative building, by means of mathematical analysis of pedestrian routes. It was applied to the specific case of people with reduced mobility and included analysis of the building accessibility as well as detection of suitable transit routes, deterioration of the road surfaces and the presence of architectural obstacles on the route.

Urban Pedestrian Routes’ Accessibility Assessment Using Geographic Information System Processing and Deep Learning-Based Object Detection

“…Once the shortest route with the best accessibility conditions was determined, the entire selected route was monitored using inertial sensors (see Figure 18 ). For this purpose, an adapted wheelchair fitted with an VN-200 inertial sensor was used (see [ 24 ]), and a weight of 60 kg was added to simulate a real scenario. The inertial sensor provided data related to turns in each direction (YAW, PITCH, ROLL), enabling an assessment of the complexity of the route and the efficiency of the analyses [ 24 ].…”

“…The most suitable routes for people in wheelchairs were determined and accessibility was monitored using inertial sensors. This phase was created on the basis of the explanation provided in one of our earlier studies [ 24 ] to determine the most suitable route.…”

“…Using the Network Analysis/Shortest Path (point to point) plugin of QGIS, the sequence of branches that allowed for the shortest connection between the IP and FP points was analysed. For this analysis, the methodology introduced in [ 24 ] was used.…”

“…After analysing the proximity type (building surroundings) of the access routes [ 24 ], we developed a method considering urban routes. The analysis of elements of particular importance includes pavements and pedestrian crossings and their access points (ramps).…”