Abstract
Abstract. As routing applications become common on mobile devices, significant problems that remain are the sparse underlying data support for pedestrian-based routing and the inability to customize an existing route for specific individual accessibility needs. Cartographic researchers have repeatedly demonstrated methods for sophisticated modelling of infrastructure and have built routing portals and accessibility systems, yet these systems and their benefits have not been used widely, due to problems with underlying data support. This research reviews a few exemplar systems and presents a new routing study that uses the presence of overhead tree canopy to add a preference layer to individual routing. This allows individuals to plan and choose navigation pathways for purposes of body heat thermoregulation, a problem that exists for many individuals with mobility impairments, particularly those with spinal cord injuries. The study presented here demonstrates that successful routing underneath the tree canopy can be done in a way that only marginally increases the length of such routes. This study also demonstrates the need for detailed geographic data support for preference-based routing.
Highlights
Introduction and backgroundInterest in personalized routing applications has risen in the past decade, with the growth smart phones and the increasing sophistication of navigation applications
While variables such as sun angle, time of day, time of year, latitude, and building shadow are not analysed in this work, maximum tree canopy coverage routes significantly increase the tree canopy coverage percentage without increasing route length
Two specific needs identified in this work are the ability to identify temporary obstacles in a travel path and route around them, and the ability to select routes with specific preference criteria, such as the presence of tree canopy
Summary
Interest in personalized routing applications has risen in the past decade, with the growth smart phones and the increasing sophistication of navigation applications. Laakso et al (2013) approaches this problem through formal modelling of information within supporting databases and by identifying routing requirements Others, such as Beale et al (2006) analyse the needs of individuals using wheelchairs and build a GIS-based application for routing that incorporates slope, surface type, and curb cuts. When several subjects identified routes several times longer than the typical shortest distance route, they indicated that their preferred route was taken to avoid long exposure to direct sunlight, which led to problems with body thermoregulation during the relatively hot portions of the spring, summer, and fall In support of this finding, Klenck and Gebke (2007) note that individuals with mobility impairment, especially those with spinal cord injury, often have difficulty regulating body temperature in hot and cold environments. Researchers pursued a dual effort to find ways to map these temporary obstacles, and to incorporate support for individual routing preferences such as the presence of an overhead tree canopy
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