The Feasibility of Information-Entropy-Based Behavioral Analysis for Detecting Environmental Barriers

Abstract

The enhancement of physical activity is highly correlated with the conditions of the built environment. Walking is considered to be a fundamental daily physical activity, which requires an appropriate environment. Therefore, the barriers of the built environment should be identified and addressed. Barriers can act as external stimuli for pedestrians, so pedestrians may diversely respond to them. Based on this consideration, this study examines the feasibility of information-entropy-based behavioral analysis for the detection of environmental barriers. The physical responses of pedestrians were collected using an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor in a smartphone. After the acquired data were converted to behavioral probability distributions, the information entropy of each grid cell was calculated. The grid cells whereby the participants indicated that environmental barriers were present yielded relatively high information entropy values. The findings of this study will facilitate the design of more pedestrian-friendly environments and the development of diverse approaches that utilize citizens for monitoring the built environment.

Two-Step k-means Clustering Based Information Entropy for Detecting Environmental Barriers Using Wearable Sensor

“…Considering these results, using more diverse gait types can be advantageous in identifying environmental barriers. Existing studies have conducted research to identify environmental barriers or hazards using only two normal and abnormal gaits [ 55 , 56 ]. Although barriers or hazards can be identified only with the existing binary classification-based approach, the method proposed in this study shows that more detailed characteristics can be inferred by classifying behaviors into subtypes regarding environmental barriers.…”

Feasibility of DRNN for Identifying Built Environment Barriers to Walkability Using Wearable Sensor Data from Pedestrians’ Gait

“…Although the existing method has shown sufficient potential to detect the hazard, the intensity-based approach to the reaction does not sufficiently consider the various types of human gait. For example, some people may be very wary of environmental barriers (weakening the intensity of their responses), while others may be more sensitive to environmental barriers [28]. A method that can distinguish abnormal gaits from normal gaits, including these personal characteristics, is needed.…”