MEP (Map for Easy Paths) is a project whose objective is the development of innovative tools and solutions for the enrichment of geographical maps with information on urban pedestrian accessibility, to support people with motor disabilities who must face the ordinary needs of daily commute in the city. The reference context on which the project is focused concerns primarily users with manual or electric wheelchair, but also the elderly with / without mechanical support, people in temporary situation of reduced mobility, including injured and people with small children, interested to routes with no stairways, with reduced slopes, etc.
The main tool that is offered to the citizen consists of a mobile platform app that allows:
1) Collecting information on the accessibility of the travelled routes in a simple way. By activating the mobile application, the person making an accessible route can be tracked and provide information on his/her route without any direct intervention. Advanced techniques for processing the collected data are used to obtain a good quality of the reconstructed routes.
2) Collecting information on any barriers / obstacles, by any citizen.
3) Visualizing the collected information through accessibility maps.
Project results
The main results of the project include:
• The design and implementation of tools for data collection on accessible routes and on any barriers / obstacles based on the use of smartphones.
• A methodology for managing the dynamic update of the collected data, with a good quality of route reconstruction.
• The implementation of an application for mobile tools for the visualization of accessibility maps to end users (tourists and citizens in general) and to public institutions (such as pro-loco and municipal administrations).
• The possibility to use the data collected in a city by local administrations in order to carry out analysis campaigns on the territory, to promote accessible tourism, or to receive reports on problems of accessibility on which to intervene promptly.
• Greater awareness of the population, by means of appropriate communication campaigns regarding the problems of people with mobility impairments.
Scientific publications:
- “Enriching Geographic Maps with Accessible Paths Derived from Implicit Mobile Device Data Collection” L. Biagi, S. Comai, R. Mangiarotti, M. Matteucci, M. Negretti. In “Enriching Urban Spaces with Ambient Computing, the Internet of Things, and Smart City Design” Editors Shin'ichi Konomi and George Roussos, IGI Global, pp. 89 – 113, 2017 Link
- "Maps for Easy Paths (MEP): Accessible Paths Tracking and Reconstruction” S. Comai, E.O. De Bernardi, M. Matteucci, F. Salice. EAI Transactions of Internet of Things (ISSN: 2414-1399), Volume 3, Fascicolo 9, Pagine 1 – 10, 2017 Link
- "Maps for Easy Paths (MEP): Enriching Maps with Accessible Paths Using MEP Traces" S. Comai, E. De Bernardi, M. Matteucci, F. Salice, GOODTECHS '16, 2nd EAI International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good, 30 novembre - 1 dicembre 2016, Venezia, Italy Link
- “Map for Easy Paths: a collaborative project for accessibility mapping thorough mobile data fusion”, Gianluca Bardaro , Davide A. Cucci , Andrea Romanoni , Matteo Matteucci , Sara Comai (Presentazione orale) - European Calibration and Orientation Workshop. Lausanne, Switzerland, Febbraio 2016
- “The MEP project: Map for Easy Paths” L. Biagi, S. Comai, R. Mangiarotti, M. Matteucci, M. Negretti, S. Ugur, M.G. Visconti. (Presentazione orale) FOSS4G Europe 2015 Symposium (Free and Open Source For Geospatial Europe Conference) – Como, Luglio 2015 Link
- “Mapping City Accessibility: Review and Analysis”, S. Comai, D. Kayange, R. Mangiarotti, M. Matteucci, S. Ugur Yavuz, F. Valentini. 13th Conference on Advancing Assistive Technology and eAccessibility for People with Disabilities (AAATE 2015), Budapest, Settembre 2015 Link
- "Accessible Urban Routes Reconstruction by Fusing Mobile Sensors Data", G. Bardaro, A. Vali, S. Comai, M. Matteucci - 13th International Conference on Advances in Mobile Computing & Multimedia (MoMM2015), Bruxelles, Belgio, Dicembre 2015 Link
- “The MEP project: Map for Easy Paths” L. Biagi, S. Comai, R. Mangiarotti, M. Matteucci, M. Negretti, S. Ugur, M.G. Visconti. (Presentazione orale) “Comitato Italo-Svizzero per la Geoinformatica”, convegno organizzato dal Politecnico a Como il 30-31 Ottobre 2014
