Application Project ASBUS

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University of Stuttgart

	Institute for Visualization and Interactive Systems
	Application Project ASBUS

ASBUS

Assistance for People with Sensory Disabilities at the University of Stuttgart

- Accessible University -

Project progress

(January 2010)

Digital maps of the buildings are provided to the ASBUS team by the building authority of the university. Not all buildings of the university are mapped in a digital format so far. This concerns older buildings in particular. These maps will be made by and by and provided for further editing with regard to the needs of people who are blind or visually impaired.

Mapping

So far, about 10% of the complete university were mapped by students in a digital format adequate for the blind. This maps include the central space around the metro station of the university. The mapping procedure starts with maps of the building authority of the university (in DWG format). Large spaces or rooms are divided into segments and named. Additional augmented information is linked to these segments such as navigation advices near hallway crossings or warnings in front of revolving doors. The mapping procedure ends with a format adequate to blind people's requirements (an XML format based on the CityGML format). Programs were implemented to automate the map conversion. Based on this automatization future work can be done faster. 100% of the university outdoor area will be finished by the end of the year 2010. It seems to be possible to finish most of indoor mapping at the end of the year 2011. The indoor environment of computer science building and of the building NWZ 2 were mapped completely in the needed format in the year 2009. The mapping of the NWZ 1 and of the cafeteria was started. Due its many stairways and complex architecture the cafeteria is a special challenge for people who are blind.

RFID technology was tested successfully to initialize the TANIA system (Tactile-Acoustical Navigation and Information Assistant) at the entrance of buildings. GPS signals can be used to initialize the system as well. However, near buildings these signals are often related with large errors concerning the current location. In this case RFID tags can be used as cheap and simple alternative. In the meantime the computer science building is partially equipped with RFID tags leading to a better initialization and location determination. Now, it is sufficient to walk through a door, e.g. the main entrance of the computer science building, to set the starting point by the usage of an installed RFID tag with a length of about 20 centimeters.

In addition, cooperation with the surveyor's office and the Stuttgart Strassenbahnen AG were started. The maps of the stations Rothebühlplatz, Friedrichsbau and the Klettpassage are now available in the DWG format. For students who are blind these spaces are of great importance to come to the university at all. Future changes are planned to be made available as updates in the final format in cooperation with the building authority of the university.

UsabilityTestTANIA

Requirement analysis of blind users

To find the spaces where special mapping is necessary videos of people with sensory disabilities were analyzed. These videos were produced together with students who are blind or visually impaired, grammar school pupils interested in studying at a university, and employees of the university on their way to important points of interest, such as ways to the metro stations, bus stops, cafeteria and lecture halls.

The TANIA system offers the possibility to provide location-based navigation advices or warnings acoustically or in Braille when the user enters a corresponding space. Another option is to guide blind users in large open spaces without tactile hints by using local coordinate systems. This method proved of value especially in the case of crossings and placements of columns that are similar to a labyrinth for people who are blind.

During the orientation unit for blind and partially sighted pupils held at the University of Karlsruhe, special challenges for beginners were identified. These challenges are considered in the current developments.

There are seven TANIA systems currently available. Four systems are funded by the ASBUS project. These systems can now be used by subjects who are blind or visually impaired to test the augmented maps and routes concerning their desired requirements.

From students for students

Besides significant advances of the project, missing map material and a delay in the employment of students, especially at the beginning, has led to a certain delay. Right now seven student assistants are working effectively as co-workers after a certain training period with the architecture and modeling software. In addition, a student assistant with visual impairment was employed as co-worker for the project. In this way students with disabilities can benefit from this project funded by tuition fees in all respects.

In order to assist students with mobility problems, a wheelchair was bought by resources of the collaborative research center 627. The navigation system for the blind will be adapted to the wheelchair. By adding routes adequate to the wheelchair, students with mobility problems or multiple disabilities can benefit from the system as well.

New contacts to benefactors such as health insurance companies have been established in order to make the future funding of innovative technical aids for students possible.