Worcester Polytechnic Institute Digital WPI Interactive Qualifying Projects (All Years) Interactive Qualifying Projects May 2010 Evaluating Accessible Pedestrian Signals for Visually Impaired Persons in Copenhagen Brian Shaw Worcester Polytechnic Institute Danica Danielle Rili Worcester Polytechnic Institute Jeffrey Joseph Gorges Worcester Polytechnic Institute Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/iqp-all Repository Citation Shaw, B., Rili, D. D., & Gorges, J. J. (2010). Evaluating Accessible Pedestrian Signals for Visually Impaired Persons in Copenhagen. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/iqp-all/2872 This Unrestricted is brought to you for free and open access by the Interactive Qualifying Projects at Digital WPI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Interactive Qualifying Projects (All Years) by an authorized administrator of Digital WPI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 50-HXA-D105 ACCESSIBLE PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS EVALUATING PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSONS IN COPENHAGEN An Interactive Qualifying Project submitted to the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science SUBMITTED BY: Jeffrey Gorges Danica Rili Brian Shaw SUBMITTED TO: Project Advisor: Prof. Holly K. Ault Project Liaison: John Heilbrunn, Danish Association of the Blind May 9, 2010 This report represents the work of WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its web site without editorial or peer review. i ABSTRACT This project, sponsored by Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Dansk Blindesamfund, investigated accessible pedestrian systems that can improve accessibility for people with visual impairments in Copenhagen. Current audible beacons are experiencing audibility, noise pollution, maintenance, and cost issues. We began by familiarizing ourselves with the problems identified, the needs of people with visual impairments, assistive technologies that are available for crossing the street, and related technologies that can be used for accessibility purposes. This was done through extensive literature reviews and numerous interviews with both accessibility experts and identified stakeholders. After identifying and analyzing numerous technological solutions that address the needs of neighbors and the government while maintaining and improving upon high levels of accessibility for persons with visual impairments, we created a set of short-term, near-term, and long-term conclusions and recommendations. Our findings conclude that the audible beacons currently found in Copenhagen can be improved through use of a more effective percussive tone, by implementing a remote monitoring system for improved maintenance, and by working directly with people who are fully blind to ensure the volume is set at an appropriate level above ambient noise. We further suggest that push-button and pedestrian detection activation schemes begin to be implemented to help ensure the audible signals are only produced when needed, and that fully tactile solutions be researched that can help pedestrians cross the street with little or no acoustic help. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank everyone who generously contributed their time and efforts, participated in interviews, showed us intersections, responded to our request for comment placed in several local newspapers, aided with translation and assisted us with research or revision. In particular, we wish to thank Mr. John Heilbrunn of Dansk Blindesamfund for his advice, ideas, and logistical support; Prof. Holly Ault for her suggestions for revision, as well as Ms. Evelyn Riley and Ms. Dorte Silver for assistance with our research. iii AUTHORSHIP This section details which author was responsible for each task related to this project. The tasks that needed to be completed were research, writing content, interviewing experts and stakeholders, surveying intersections, editing written material, and finding or producing graphics. Research required group members to look for published sources, examine the content for useful material, and cite appropriately. Content writing required group members to present key ideas in cohesive prose with relevant tables and figures. Interviewing experts and stakeholders required members to create interview plans, schedule meetings, and often send interview summaries to the interviewee in a timely manner. Surveying intersections required group members to visit various locations in Copenhagen, measure details such as the distance at which signals are audible, assisting guides who are visually impaired if present, and documenting comments and measurements on a note sheet. Editing required group members to revise all written material to ensure that all statements made are accurate, all conclusions are defensible, and no syntactic errors are present. Graphics required group members to locate appropriate graphical sources, generate visuals, and cite graphics as needed to explain and enhance the written content. Jeffrey Gorges, Brian Shaw, and Danica Rili each contributed equally to each of these tasks. iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For sighted pedestrians, crossing the street is a simple task. For pedestrians with visual impairments, it is much more challenging. Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) encompass a variety of technologies aimed at helping people with visual impairments travel safely and independently. They provide information to pedestrians about the location of the intersection, which direction to cross, when to cross and how to get to the other side safely. Locating the end of a sidewalk at an intersection with APS is currently done by either feeling a detectable warning surface underfoot or following a locator tone. Both indicate that the pedestrian has reached the edge of the sidewalk and must stop. Currently in Copenhagen, the locator tone is a beep at 880 Hz once every two seconds. All APS devices in Denmark also have a tactile arrow which indicates the exact direction of the crosswalk as well as whether or not traffic islands must be crossed. When the crossing signal light comes on, the pedestrian can be informed through auditory or vibro-tactile means. The current crossing tone in Copenhagen has the same pitch as the locator tone but at a rate of five times every two seconds. Audible beacons are another type of APS device that can alert the pedestrian to cross as well as guide them in the right direction by emitting a highly directional signal. The most common vibro-tactile solution is a vibrator incorporated into the APS device. Current APS manufacturers make a variety of devices, many of which have similar features such as the ability to emit locator tones with different sounds, tactile arrows, vibrations and adjustable volume capabilities. Prisma Teknik and Swarco provide most of the devices currently used in Copenhagen. Devices have the capability to adjust the volume level of the signal to accommodate changes in the ambient sound level. These devices are consistently located relative to the edge of the crosswalk to allow for easier navigation between signals. They are also located a consistent distance from the curb so the user can be close to both the signal and the intersection. Most intersections are timed in Copenhagen, so most devices do not have a pushbutton. Even though current devices have the capability to adjust volume based on ambient noise, finding a volume that is loud enough for pedestrians but won’t disturb residents in the area is a problem. Maintaining these systems and trying to develop universal harmonization are further issues. A number of systems such as pedestrian detection and user activation using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags or cell phone Bluetooth signals have been proposed to address these problems. v The goal of this project was to research new and improved Accessible Pedestrian Signal systems for the Dansk Blindesamfund. To accomplish this task, we investigated the needs of our stakeholders: the visually impaired, the community and the government. We also discussed problems with the current system. Furthermore, we identified and assessed solutions to each specific problem. The basic objectives for this project are listed below. 1. Understand the needs of the stakeholders 2. Detail characteristics of existing and related technologies 3. Compare APS systems using criteria based on stakeholder needs 4. Suggest appropriate solutions 5. Recommend possible implementation strategies To familiarize ourselves with this project, we determined what accessible technologies exist, how they work, and how they help people with visual impairments cross the street. We analyzed each system based on how well it met the needs of our stakeholders. In order to understand how people with visual impairments cross the street as well as their needs and concerns, we interviewed a mobility specialist and conducted walkthroughs of APS-equipped intersections. We then asked a representative group of actively travelling people with visual impairments about their needs and their opinions on the technologies we were considering. In order to obtain neighbor complaints directly from the community, we placed an advertisement in three local newspapers asking residents for their opinions. To understand how the government is involved in accessible system installation and the types of devices that are currently installed, we interviewed