Indoor Travel Research Articles

Factors affecting evacuation in intellectually disabled children: An experimental study

Children with intellectual disabilities are considered a vulnerable group in evacuations during emergencies, yet their evacuation needs have not received sufficient attention. To bridge this gap, this study provides one of the very few experimental analyses of the evacuation of intellectually disabled children. Therefore, this study aimed to gather unique evacuation data for intellectually disabled children and identify factors influencing their evacuation process. Two evacuation experiments were conducted on 49 intellectually disabled children aged 7 to 16 from a special education school. Data collected through video recordings include recognition time, response time, pre-movement time, indoor travel speed, horizontal travel speed, and vertical travel speed. This study explored whether and how several key factors (e.g., drill announcement status, sex, age, floor level, and students' dependency behavior) affect the evacuation of intellectually disabled children. Results indicate that drill announcement status significantly affected the recognition time and pre-movement time in intellectually disabled children but did not impact their response time or travel speed. The floor level on which children were located significantly influenced their evacuation process, with children on higher floors showing longer response and pre-movement time and slower indoor travel speed and horizontal travel speed compared to those on the first floor. Additionally, the dependency behavior of these children on teachers significantly influenced their recognition time. Moreover, this dependency behavior tended to be prevalent among intellectually disabled children during emergency evacuations. These findings provide valuable insights for the design of educational buildings tailored to the needs of special populations, evacuation simulation modeling, and the development of building regulations.

Analysis of single-sided ventilation flows of a generic isolated building using particle tracking method in LES simulation

The main objective of this study is to investigate the airflow patterns in single-sided ventilation of isolated buildings in which the ventilation rate can not be easily predicted by the conventional Orifice equation. The research focuses on buildings with two openings located either at the front or back external wall, with building aspect ratios of 1:1 and 1:2.The study utilizes Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with the particle tracking technique validated by velocity data obtained from a wind tunnel experiment. Ventilation performance is evaluated by Airflow Rate (AFR) and Purging Flow Rate (PFR). AFR was obtained based on the instantaneous velocity over the openings, and PFR was determined by the tracer gas method. The results show that the influence of pulsation flow and eddy penetration both exist in single-sided ventilation. The comparison of AFR and PFR indicates part of the airflow through the opening does not contribute to effectively removing the indoor contaminants, which is quantitively evaluated by ventilation efficiency (εv) defined as the ratio of PFR and AFR. In order to explicitly observe and depict the airflow, the massless particles were emitted at the opening, and the trajectories were analysed. The Probability Density Function (PDF) of indoor residence and indoor travel distance was calculated. The high probability of short indoor travel distance and the residence time, which is mainly caused by the eddy at the openings and time-variant pulsation flow, can explain the difference between AFR and PFR.

Indoor Positioning and Navigating System Application Using Wi-Fi with Fingerprinting Method and Weighted K-Nearest Neighbor Algorithm

The need for accurate indoor location determination, object tracking, digital maps and indoor travel routes is increasing along with the construction of buildings that have complex and spacious layouts. The current Global Positioning System navigation system is only effective for outdoor use. However, when used indoors it becomes inaccurate due to factors such as signal attenuation and multipath caused by wall obstructions in the building. This study designed an application of Indoor Positioning and Navigating System Using Wi-Fi with Fingerprinting method and Weighted K-Nearest Neighbor algorithm. In the design process, it is necessary to create a fingerprinting database by considering the number of Access points and environmental conditions. Based on the results of the study, the location results of the application show that from floors 1,2, and 3. Floor 1 has a room accuracy result of 89% and a point accuracy of 86% with an average deviation of 1.42 px or 0.9 m, floor 2 has room accuracy results. of 65% and a point accuracy of 70% with an average deviation of 2.43 px or 1.7 m, and the 3rd floor has a room accuracy of 86% and a point accuracy of 68% with an average deviation of 2.27 or 1.5 m. Based on the data above, this application is proven to be able to detect the position of someone in the room with a success percentage on the 1st floor by 90%, the 2nd floor by 55%, and the 3rd floor by 80%.

A Survey of 17 Indoor Travel Assistance Systems for Blind and Visually Impaired People

Not only has information technology evolved rapidly, but the spatial cognition theory for blind and visually impaired (BVI) people has also made great strides, which has opened up a new opportunity for indoor travel assistance systems (ITASs). However, there are still some issues that have not been effectively addressed due to the lack of guidance of the spatial cognition theory. Thus, this article presents a comparative survey among ITASs proposed in the last four years in an effort to inform researchers and developers about system problems and challenges and inform BVI people about the various types and functions of the ITAS. This article will also make researchers and developers aware of the importance of the spatial cognition theory. Furthermore, we give predictions for future trends based on a detailed analysis of 17 ITASs.

Blind Travel Prediction Based on Obstacle Avoidance in Indoor Scene

Blind people have intelligent tools to rely on for travel with the development of navigation technology. The GPS navigation, blind track, etc., are tools that blind people often use when traveling outdoors. However, indoor navigation tools and technology for blind people are lacking. We propose an obstacle avoidance algorithm and a spatial‐temporal model of trajectory prediction for the indoor travel task of the blind. The focus of this work is that it enables the blind to accurately avoid obstacles and achieve high accuracy trajectory prediction aiming at the unique movement characteristics of the blind. We set up a variety of baselines to conduct an experimental evaluation on a dataset of blind trajectories in a multistorey shopping mall. The experimental results show the advantages of the data model and predictive model of this work.

Smartphone-Based Technology to Help Individuals with Intellectual Disability and Blindness Manage Basic Indoor Travel

The present study assessed a new intervention strategy to help individuals with severe to profound intellectual disability and blindness (i.e., total blindness or minimal residual vision) to travel to different rooms located on both sides of long hallways. The intervention strategy was based on the use of a smartphone (i.e., a Samsung Galaxy J4 Plus with Android 9.0 operating system) and battery-powered light sources. The smartphone was programmed to encourage the participant to walk forward alongside a wall of the hallway until its light sensor was activated by a light source positioned before a room entrance. At that point, the smartphone encouraged the participant to stop and then enter. Nine participants were involved in the study. Each session involved seven travels. During the baseline phase, the participants’ mean frequencies of correct travels per session varied between zero and slightly above 2. During the intervention phase, with the smartphone-based cues, all participants showed a strong performance improvement. Their mean frequencies of correct travels varied between about 6.5 and (virtually) 7 per session during the second half of the intervention phase. This smartphone-based intervention strategy might help support indoor travel of people with intellectual disability and blindness.

Location recognition system using random forest

There are many studies underway on indoor location recognition technologies, which use WiFi. BLE beacons, etc. This study proposes a location recognition system that works based on gathered WiFi data (BSSID, RSSI), which provides users with their location information. There are many multivariate analysis methods available, but random forest was used in this study, an ensemble learning method. The performances of differentiation were compared, applying random forest, an ensemble learning method of multivariate classification methods to the location information system. As for the experimental space, a limited interior space was divided in a grid shape to carry out an experiment. As a result of the experiment, the proposed algorithm had an accuracy, average 6.04% higher than the RSSI-based random forest location recognition, and the execution rate of the proposed algorithm, too, was consistent regardless of the number of the collected data, while that of the compared algorithm increased in proportion to the number of the collected data. The findings of our study are expected to be used in the areas of mobile advertisement, emergency rescue, and indoor travel guidance.

Device-Free Non-Privacy Invasive Classification of Elderly Travel Patterns in A Smart House Using PIR Sensors and DCNN

Single resident life style is increasing among the elderly due to the issues of elderly care cost and privacy invasion. However, the single life style cannot be maintained if they have dementia. Thus, the early detection of dementia is crucial. Systems with wearable devices or cameras are not preferred choice for the long-term monitoring. Main intention of this paper is to propose deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) classifier for indoor travel patterns of elderly people living alone using open data set collected by device-free non-privacy invasive binary (passive infrared) sensor data. Travel patterns are classified as direct, pacing, lapping, or random according to Martino–Saltzman (MS) model. MS travel pattern is highly related with person’s cognitive state, and thus can be used to detect early stage of dementia. We have utilized an open data set that was presented by Center for Advanced Studies in Adaptive Systems project, Washington State University. The data set was collected by monitoring a cognitively normal elderly person by wireless passive infrared sensors for 21 months. First, 117 320 travel episodes are extracted from the data set and classified by MS travel pattern classifier algorithm for the ground truth. Later, 12 000 episodes (3000 for each pattern) were randomly selected from the total episodes to compose training and testing data set. Finally, DCNN performance was compared with seven other classical machine-learning classifiers. The random forest and DCNN yielded the best classification accuracies of 94.48% and 97.84%, respectively. Thus, the proposed DCNN classifier can be used to infer dementia through travel pattern matching.

Optical signal processing for indoor positioning using a-SiCH technology

We use the nonlinear property of silicon carbon (SiC) multilayer devices under UV irradiation to design an optical processor for indoor positioning. The transducer combines the simultaneous demultiplexing operation with photodetection and self-amplification. The proposed coding is based on SiC technology. Based on that, we present a way to achieve indoor localization using the parity bits and a navigation syndrome. A representation with a 4-bit original string color message and the transmitted 7-bit string, the encoding and decoding of accurate positional information processes, and the design of SiC navigation syndrome generators are discussed and tested. A visible multilateration method estimates the position of the device using the decoded information received from several noncollinear transmitters. The location and motion information is found by mapping position and estimates the location areas. Since the indoor position of the light-emitting diode light source is known from building floor plans and lighting plans, the corresponding indoor position and travel direction of a mobile device can be determined.

A new 3D indoor/outdoor spatial model for indoor emergency response facilitation

Increasing size and complexity of indoor structures and increased urbanization has led to much more complication in urban disaster management. Contrary to outdoor environments, first responders and planners have limited information regarding the indoor areas in terms of architectural and semantic information as well as how they interact with their surroundings in case of indoor disasters. Availability of such information could help decision makers interact with building information and thus make more efficient planning prior to entering the disaster site. In addition as the indoor travel times required to reach specific areas in the building could be much longer compared to outdoor, visualizing the exact location of building rooms and utilities in 3D helps in visually communicating the indoor spatial information which could eventually result in decreased routing uncertainty inside the structures and help in more informed navigation strategies. This work aims at overcoming the insufficiencies of existing indoor modelling approaches by proposing a new Indoor Emergency Spatial Model (IESM) based on IFC. The model integrates 3D indoor architectural and semantic information required by first responders during indoor disasters with outdoor geographical information to improve situational awareness about both interiors of buildings as well as their interactions with outdoor components. The model is implemented and tested using the Esri GIS platform. The paper discusses the effectiveness of the model in both decision making and navigation by demonstrating the model's indoor spatial analysis capabilities and how it improves destination travel times.

Orientation technology to help persons with blindness and multiple disabilities manage indoor travel and travel-related anxiety

Background This study extended the assessment of a technology-aided orientation program with auditory cues by including 2 participants with multiple disabilities who had difficulties in indoor travel and showed travel-related anxiety behaviours (e.g., calling for help and whimpering).Method The study was carried out according to a multiple probe design across 2 settings for the first participant and an ABAB design for the second participant. Data collection served to determine whether the orientation technology used during the intervention phases of the study and the postintervention check had a positive impact on the participants’ indoor travel and anxiety behaviours.Results Data showed that both participants learned to travel successfully with the support of the technology. Concomitant with their successful travel, anxiety-related behaviours were eliminated or reduced to minimal levels.Conclusions Technology-aided orientation programs may be effective for both promoting correct indoor travel and reducing travel-related anxiety behaviours.

Comparing two different orientation strategies for promoting indoor traveling in people with Alzheimer's disease

The present study compared two different types of orientation strategies: an assistive technology program (AT, i.e., remotely controlled sound/light devices) and a backward chaining procedure (BC) for promoting indoor traveling in four persons with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). A social validation assessment of the two strategies was also conducted employing undergraduate students as raters. For three out of four participants, AT intervention was more effective than the BC procedure, whilst for the fourth participant the two types of intervention had a comparably satisfying efficacy. A doubly Multivariate Analysis of Variance on social validation assessment data provided generally more positive scores for the AT intervention. These results suggest that AT programs (a) can be valuably employed for restoring and maintaining independence in indoor traveling in people with moderate to severe AD, and (b) might be perceived as preferable to conventional teaching strategies within daily contexts.

Supporting daily activities and indoor travel of persons with moderate Alzheimer's disease through standard technology resources

These two studies were aimed at evaluating standard technology resources for supporting activity and travel among patients with moderate Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, Study I assessed a pictorial instruction program relying on the use of a portable computer and a commercially available and inexpensive video editing software for supporting the performance of daily activities with three patients. Study II assessed the indoor travel performance of four patients (i.e., the three involved in Study I and a fourth patient with no previous research exposure) using a commercially available, basic doorbell system with sound and light cues. The percentages of correct activity steps obtained with the instruction program used in Study I were relatively high and largely similar to the percentages reported in previous studies using more sophisticated technology. During Study II, the percentages of correct travels of two patients matched the data of the most successful patients involved in previous studies with more sophisticated technology. The percentages of the other two patients tended to be lower than those obtained previously, but were still practically relevant. The implications of the results of the two studies and a number of issues for new research are discussed.

Technology-based orientation programs to support indoor travel by persons with moderate Alzheimer's disease: Impact assessment and social validation

The present study (a) extended the assessment of an orientation program involving auditory cues (i.e., verbal messages automatically presented from the destinations) with five patients with Alzheimer's disease, (b) compared the effects of this program with those of a program with light cues (i.e., a program in which strobe lights were used instead of the verbal messages) with the same five patients, and (c) conducted a social validation assessment of the two programs with 70 university psychology students employed as social raters. Results confirmed the effectiveness of the program with auditory cues and showed an equally strong impact of the program with light cues with all five patients. The psychology students involved in the social validation assessment provided significantly higher scores for the program involving light cues on a six-item questionnaire. Those scores suggested that this program was perceived as a practically and socially preferable choice. The implications of the findings for daily contexts dealing with patients with Alzheimer's disease are discussed.

Technology-Aided Programs for Persons with Severe/Profound and Multiple Disabilities: A Selective Review

Summary This paper represents a brief, selective review of technology-aided programs for persons with severe/profound and multiple disabilities. Specifically, the paper provides detailed summaries of a number of illustrative studies conducted by these authors for the assessment of (a) microswitch-based programs aimed at promoting response engagement and control of environmental stimulation, (b) speech-generating devices and computer-aided programs directed at promoting communication and stimulus choice, (c) orientation technology solutions for promoting indoor travel, and (d) visual- and verbal-instruction technology for promoting performance of complex, multi-step tasks. The studies included in the review provide a specific picture of the technological instruments adopted within the programs, of the participants involved, and of the outcomes obtained. Questions of practical importance left unanswered by those studies and others in the field are also discussed as possible targets of new research.

Persons with multiple disabilities use orientation technology to find room entrances during indoor traveling

These two studies assessed adapted orientation technology for promoting correct direction and room identification during indoor traveling by persons with multiple (e.g., sensory, motor and intellectual/adaptive) disabilities. In Study I, two adults were included who had severe visual impairment or total blindness and deafness and used a wheelchair for traveling. In Study II, two adults participated who had visual impairment or total blindness but were ambulatory. All participants were to travel to different rooms located along a hallway to carry out small activities. The orientation technology ensured that the participants received (a) a verbal instruction to go to their right or left and/or a vibratory cue to the right or left side of their body as soon as they exited a room to orient their travel within the hallway and (b) a similar verbal instruction and/or vibratory cue to turn and enter when they reached the next target room entrance. Results of both studies showed that the participants on wheelchairs and those able to ambulate were successful in using the technology, orient their travel, and find the appropriate room entrances. The findings are discussed in relation to the importance of independent indoor traveling and the impact of the new technology.

Two persons with multiple disabilities use orientation technology with auditory cues to manage simple indoor traveling

This study was an effort to extend the evaluation of orientation technology for promoting independent indoor traveling in persons with multiple disabilities. Two participants (adults) were included, who were to travel to activity destinations within occupational settings. The orientation system involved (a) cueing sources only at the destinations (i.e., a single sound source per destination), (b) a newly developed electronic control device that allowed the participants to easily manage the activation of the sources at the destinations, and (c) the provision of approval or encouragement messages. Both participants were successful in using the system and performed their travels to the destinations fairly correctly and in relatively short amounts of time within (a) the occupational setting used for the intervention and (b) a similar occupational setting used for checking generalization effects. The findings are discussed in relation to the importance of independent indoor traveling and the impact of the new technology.

Orientation technology for indoor travel by persons with multiple disabilities

Orientation technology for indoor travel by persons with multiple disabilities

A Wheelchair User with Visual and Intellectual Disabilities Managing Simple Orientation Technology for Indoor Travel

Persons with profound visual impairments and other disabilities, such as neuromotor and intellectual disabilities, may encounter serious orientation and mobility problems even in familiar indoor environments, such as their homes (Joffee & Rikhye, 1991; Lancioni & Oliva, 1999; Lancioni et al., 2007, 2008; Uslan, Russell, & Weiner, 1988). Teaching these persons to develop maps of their daily environment, using miniature replicas of the areas or some landmarks as orientation cues, may be difficult (Emerson & Corn, 2006; Joffee, 1995; Lancioni et al., 2007; Martinsen, Tellevik, Elmerskog, & Storlilckken, 2007). The difficulty may be even greater when the persons are in wheelchairs and thus have limited opportunities to explore the surrounding space and related cues (Lancioni et al., 2007). A potentially effective alternative to the aforementioned maps could be the use of orientation technology, specifically, orientation systems that rely on directional cues (Lancioni et al., 2007; Uslan et al., 1988). These systems are intended to guide or direct persons to their destinations without requiring spatial or travel abilities other than those of orienting to the sources that are providing cues (Lancioni et al., 2007, 2008). Although such systems can be useful, efforts are needed to enhance their flexibility and simplicity so that they can more easily suit different environmental and personal situations (Scherer, Sax, Vanbiervliet, Cushman, & Scherer, 2005). Recently, we designed a system to be simpler than previous systems. It uses cues only at destinations (that is, a single sound source per destination) and involves a portable, electronic control device with keys to activate the cues at the sources or destinations. Two participants with multiple disabilities used the system successfully (Lancioni et al., 2008). The current study assessed such a system with a wheelchair user, a woman, with minimal residual vision and a moderate intellectual disability. Contrary to the aforementioned participants, the wheelchair user described in this report could not efficiently find doors to rooms by following the walls of a room or corridor with her hand. Moreover, she could not discriminate and use the keys of the control device. To deal with these disadvantages, we marked the doors to rooms with orange lights and used a larger control device with wider keys for activating destinations. The keys for activating the destinations were covered with small (discriminated) objects representing the activities that were available at the destinations; these objects were encircled with light-emitting diodes. The diodes on a key remained illuminated until that key was selected. METHOD Participant The participant (Gloria) was 27 years old and in a wheelchair, which she could slowly propel on her own, because of her spastic tetraparesis and hip problems. She also had optic nerve atrophy and minimal residual vision, so she could see objects at a distance of about 1 meter (approximately 3 feet) and light sources at a distance of about 2 meters (approximately 6.5 feet) (Morse, Teresi, Rosenthal, Holmes, & Yatzkan, 2004). She was rated as having a moderate intellectual disability with a verbal IQ score of 47 on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Gloria could understand and produce simple sentences about daily events and persons. Her age equivalent for daily living skills was lower than 3 years on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-Interview Edition (Sparrow, Balla, & Cicchetti, 1984). Gloria was known for her orientation problems and her reliance on staff for reaching relevant destinations within her daily environment. She lived at home with her parents and attended a day activity center, where she engaged in vocational activities such as assembling key holders and wool decorations, and in leisure activities. Approval for this study was granted by the Scientific and Ethics Committee of the Lega F. …

Self-Management of Orientation Technology and Auditory Cues for Indoor Travel by Two Persons with Multiple Disabilities

This study was an effort to extend the evaluation of orientation technology for promoting independent indoor traveling in persons with multiple disabilities. Two participants (adults) were included, who were to travel within their apartment and work place. The system adopted involved cueing sources only at the destinations (i.e., a single sound source per destination); thus, it was simplified compared to previous systems. Moreover, it involved a new operation-control device that allowed the participants to easily manage on their own the activation of the sources and, for one of the participants, also the frequency of the cueing. The results showed that both participants were successful in using the system on their own and thus performed their traveling correctly (independently) and in relatively short amounts of time. Moreover both of them indicated a clear preference for traveling with the use of the system rather than without it. The findings and their implications were discussed in relation to the new technology and the characteristics of the participants.