On Supporting University Communities in Indoor Wayfinding: An Inclusive Design Approach
Mobility can be defined as the ability of people to move, live and interact with the space. In this context, indoor mobility, in terms of indoor localization and wayfinding, is a relevant topic due to the challenges it presents, in comparison with outdoor mobility, where GPS is hardly exploited. Kno...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/9/3134 |
| _version_ | 1797535564650512384 |
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| author | Catia Prandi Giovanni Delnevo Paola Salomoni Silvia Mirri |
| author_facet | Catia Prandi Giovanni Delnevo Paola Salomoni Silvia Mirri |
| author_sort | Catia Prandi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mobility can be defined as the ability of people to move, live and interact with the space. In this context, indoor mobility, in terms of indoor localization and wayfinding, is a relevant topic due to the challenges it presents, in comparison with outdoor mobility, where GPS is hardly exploited. Knowing how to move in an indoor environment can be crucial for people with disabilities, and in particular for blind users, but it can provide several advantages also to any person who is moving in an unfamiliar place. Following this line of thought, we employed an inclusive by design approach to implement and deploy a system that comprises an Internet of Things infrastructure and an accessible mobile application to provide wayfinding functions, targeting the University community. As a real word case study, we considered the University of Bologna, designing a system able to be deployed in buildings with different configurations and settings, considering also historical buildings. The final system has been evaluated in three different scenarios, considering three different target audiences (18 users in total): i. students with disabilities (i.e., visual and mobility impairments); ii. campus students; and iii. visitors and tourists. Results reveal that all the participants enjoyed the provided functions and the indoor localization strategy was fine enough to provide a good wayfinding experience. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:47:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6802f0363e354eef8e4759ae7b2032f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:47:13Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-6802f0363e354eef8e4759ae7b2032f32023-11-21T17:59:35ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202021-04-01219313410.3390/s21093134On Supporting University Communities in Indoor Wayfinding: An Inclusive Design ApproachCatia Prandi0Giovanni Delnevo1Paola Salomoni2Silvia Mirri3Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, ItalyMobility can be defined as the ability of people to move, live and interact with the space. In this context, indoor mobility, in terms of indoor localization and wayfinding, is a relevant topic due to the challenges it presents, in comparison with outdoor mobility, where GPS is hardly exploited. Knowing how to move in an indoor environment can be crucial for people with disabilities, and in particular for blind users, but it can provide several advantages also to any person who is moving in an unfamiliar place. Following this line of thought, we employed an inclusive by design approach to implement and deploy a system that comprises an Internet of Things infrastructure and an accessible mobile application to provide wayfinding functions, targeting the University community. As a real word case study, we considered the University of Bologna, designing a system able to be deployed in buildings with different configurations and settings, considering also historical buildings. The final system has been evaluated in three different scenarios, considering three different target audiences (18 users in total): i. students with disabilities (i.e., visual and mobility impairments); ii. campus students; and iii. visitors and tourists. Results reveal that all the participants enjoyed the provided functions and the indoor localization strategy was fine enough to provide a good wayfinding experience.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/9/3134indoor wayfindingindoor localization technologiesinclusive designBLE beaconInternet of Thingspeople with disabilities |
| spellingShingle | Catia Prandi Giovanni Delnevo Paola Salomoni Silvia Mirri On Supporting University Communities in Indoor Wayfinding: An Inclusive Design Approach Sensors indoor wayfinding indoor localization technologies inclusive design BLE beacon Internet of Things people with disabilities |
| title | On Supporting University Communities in Indoor Wayfinding: An Inclusive Design Approach |
| title_full | On Supporting University Communities in Indoor Wayfinding: An Inclusive Design Approach |
| title_fullStr | On Supporting University Communities in Indoor Wayfinding: An Inclusive Design Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | On Supporting University Communities in Indoor Wayfinding: An Inclusive Design Approach |
| title_short | On Supporting University Communities in Indoor Wayfinding: An Inclusive Design Approach |
| title_sort | on supporting university communities in indoor wayfinding an inclusive design approach |
| topic | indoor wayfinding indoor localization technologies inclusive design BLE beacon Internet of Things people with disabilities |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/9/3134 |
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