Automated Accessibility Assessment

Purpose and goal

A rapidly growing number of persons with reduced mobility (PRM) cannot participate in society on equal terms due to lack of accessibility in the built environment and lack of information about its accessibility. Reliable, accurate accessibility information requires manual measurements that our planned AI-based technology will automate, customize and cheapen. This is of interest to the hospitality industry with its growing number of elderly tourists and for housing policy where the housing stock, with the new technology, can be adapted to and utilized optimally by PRMs.

Expected results and effects

After the pre-study we have - design specifications for the planned app´s functions based on the most frequent obstacles in the built environment and the target group´s preferences -market analysis of the most common apps with access information - budget, resource, time plan and AI technology for developing a semi-automated app and its iterative testing up to the Proof of Concept stage - partners in housing and hospitality markets prepared to test, evaluate prototype and suggest improvements - marketing strategy for the app including potential user categories to focus on.

Planned approach and implementation

We analyzed - today´s accessibility auditing and information services with recommendations for our project (Appendix) - the target group´s desired functions in an app and the most common access obstacles in the built environment, using a survey (Appendix) - AI-based technologies for providing absolute measurements, their resource needs and application development strategies (Appendix) Alliances were created with DHR as co-applicant, actors in the housing market, hospitality industry, research, and accessibility information services (Appendix).