Global Resources and Promising Practices for Building and Refining Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities from Darren Bates LLC.
Railway operators in and outside Tokyo are turning to smartphone apps to make their services more accessible and convenient for passengers that use wheelchairs. Under one new system, an app allows station staff to internally share the information of where passengers board trains and at what time they will arrive at their destinations, so that they can help them get…
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South Korea’s second largest city is using new, inclusive technology to bring down barriers to mobility for people who are blind.
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Traveling to work, meeting friends for a catch up or just doing some shopping are often taken for granted by people with no known disabilities. For the visually impaired, these seemingly simple things can be a serious challenge. But imagine a city equipped with technology that enables the visually impaired to recognise people, places or even bank notes, helping them…
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Cities are becoming smarter than ever before, with a plethora of startups looking to transform how we interact with our urban spaces. The rise of the smart city, however, poses a new and difficult problem for governments…
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A Smart City gives its citizens all the benefits of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to provide them with services adapted to their needs in real time. This technology can be found at different levels of society such as education, transportation, the environment, health or safety. The overall objective of the smart city is therefore to improve the quality of…
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Everyday, we rethink today’s cities to transform them in smart cities accessible to everyone. By creating solutions ever more tailored to the needs of people with disabilities, we push the limits, constantly improve the urban life and make the cities more enjoyable for the growing majority.
Read More Most people know about Seattle’s rain, but they’re surprised to learn that the city, especially the downtown area, is steeper than Denver, the “Mile High City.” Seattle’s hills can render many buildings and businesses, including places like City Hall, inaccessible to people with mobility needs. For those people, apps such as Google Maps are not especially helpful because they show…
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Researchers with the Global Disability Innovation Hub, co-led by UCL (University College London) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-Delhi), are developing wheelchair-accessible maps of Delhi, India. Described as Street Rehab, the collaborative project has been conceptualized with innovative sensing platforms. This is how it works. UCL has arrived at low-cost sensors that can identify features of…
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Access, is Chris Higgin’s short documentary about accessibility. It follows Cory Joseph through a typical day, showing how he uses his smartphone, Braille display, tactile watch, and guide dog (named Vine) to navigate the world. I hope you watch it, and I hope it inspires you to make your work more accessible to more people….
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Cities are serious business – economic powerhouses with their own delicate ecosystems – but that doesn’t mean designing them shouldn’t be fun. In Barcelona they made it a game. Like a Spanish translation of SimCity, the popular ’90s video game for imagining cities that plays on Nintendo’s moustachioed mascot Mario, SuperBarrio offers real residents the chance to determine how their…
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Take a walk down one of the trendy little laneways in the heart of Melbourne, flat white in hand, and imagine: What will the city look like in five years? “The thing that people love about Melbourne is Melbourne as a place and an experience”, says Ben Rimmer, Chief Executive of the City of Melbourne. We are sitting in his…
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Technology can help people with disabilities get around cities – but it must provide reliable information tailored for varying needs BARCELONA – Entrepreneur Josep Esteba became so frustrated trying to get around his native Spain in a wheelchair for more than 20 years that he embarked on a mission to map cities for disabled people all over the world. “Many…
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Bluetooth technology, crowdsourcing, and connected devices are making mobility easier for blind, visually impaired or disabled transit riders. In Boston, transit officials, through a partnership with Perkins School for the Blind, have been contributing data to the app BlindWays, which combines GPS data with special clues to get users to the exact location of a bus stop. The clues are…
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City of Boston, Aira partner to offer assistive technology for residents and visitors with blindness or low-vision for One Boston Day and Boston Marathon. Do not add additional content to the following right column. Secondary content should be included in a new right column below the left (main) columAira’s app will be available for free use during the Boston Marathon…
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Google Maps is filling in an important detail for its transit navigation by giving users the option to check a box that will highlight wheelchair accessible stations. The addition of wheelchair accessibility is meant to round out other location and direction features on a global basis. “This feature is rolling out in major metropolitan transit centers … Continue reading Google Maps…
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Advancements in technology can play a deep and meaningful role in the independent mobility of people who are blind or have low vision. That is why we created Soundscape, a free app available today on iOS and iPhone in the UK. Soundscape empowers more people to explore the world around them through a 3D audio experience. The app enriches your…
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When Maayan Ziv and her classmates wrapped up the first week of graduate school classes in Toronto, they wanted to celebrate. One of Ziv’s classmates suggested they all go to a bar in the area. Most of the group didn’t think twice. But because Ziv is in a wheelchair, she always needs to know if the place she’s going is…
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Bluetooth Beacons are small devices that send Bluetooth signals to nearby mobile devices. These can trigger actions on these mobile devices, for example sending a marketing message at the right time and place. They are especially helpful for helping the visually impaired navigate indoors where GPS can’t reach phones. A number of projects use beacons in this capacity in a variety of sectors.
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SMART CITY APP An App made for Smart City Leaders If you run a smart city project, this App is for you (iOS app and Android app). With various local stakeholders, benchmark progress in your city against best practices and develop a shared vision for the next couple of years. The smart city leader invites a handful of local experts to input…
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