Project Mobile will be providing information to transport operators at the ‘new mobility’ trade fair and conference, taking place in Leipzig from 12 to 13 April 2016.
Kleve/Kamp-Lintfort, 12 April 2016: From the perspective of public transport operators, questions have arisen regarding accessibility following an amendment to the Passenger Transport Act (PBefG). Section 8(3)(3) of the PBefG requires that ‘full accessibility’ be achieved by 1 January 2022 for people with mobility or sensory impairments using public transport. Unanswered questions such as: “When is my bus coming? Is it running late? Am I on the right train? Where can I change trains without having to climb stairs? When do I actually need to get off? How do I get where I’m going without being able to read?” could soon be answered.
At the trade fair and conference ‘new mobility – Rethinking Mobility’ – taking place from 12 to 13 April 2016 in Leipzig – researchers from Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, together with their project partners, will present ‘Mobile – mobile in life’ (Hall 3, Stand N07).
“At our stand, we will be presenting our solution using fully functional prototypes,” explains Prof. Dr Christian Ressel, Professor of Ambient Intelligent Systems at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences and project leader. To this end, researchers from the Faculty of Communication and Environment, as well as researchers from the FAST Centre of Excellence and the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, are constructing a model of a bus and a bus stop and fitting them with their devices. “Using a scenario, we will demonstrate specialised user interfaces for route planning, navigation and virtual guidance during the journey, and explain in detail how localisation works using optical markers and Bluetooth beacons, as well as signposts incorporating NFC and RFID technology, and wearable devices. “For transport operators, we explain the technical framework and the opportunities for a more accessible transport service.”
The project is being carried out in collaboration with the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, SWK Stadtwerke Krefeld AG, moBiel GmbH in Bielefeld, Bethel.regional on behalf of the v. Bodelschwinghschen Stiftungen Bethel, Bielefeld – an organisation supporting people with special needs – and the healthcare provider inoges/Salvea in Krefeld. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) until 30 September 2016, following a resolution by the German Bundestag. The results of the project also form the basis for a planned roll-out amongst the project partners. The implementation of the project results is to be extended to the entire bus and rail network and eventually introduced as standard.
