Communication

Communication

Monday, 30 October 2017

Technical report draft 1

1. Introduction / background information


Singapore has implemented many measures to help people with disabilities integrate into the community in the last 13 years (Society for Physically Disabled, 2014). Visually impaired commuters travelling alone, however, are still having difficulties using public buses.
The two main problems faced by the visually impaired are knowing which buses are arriving at the bus stop and whether the buses that they are on have reached their destination (Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped, 2017). Their predicament was reported by Spykerman (2016) - a visually impaired undergraduate had to alight many stops after her destination when the bus captain had forgotten to inform her and she had to wait for someone to assist her to go to the bus stop across the road to get to her destination.
Statistics on visual impairment in Singapore for gauging the extent of the problem is limited. An estimate derived using the study results of Wong et al. (2012) and the data from the Census of Population 2010 (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2011) showed that about 175,000 adults who are above 40 years old are visually impaired. This indicative number excludes children and adults below 40 years old. The number is likely to increase since "more people are at risk of age-related visual impairments as our population ages" (Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, 2017).
The anticipated rise in visually impaired persons warrants attention to ensure they are able to board the right public bus and alight at the right stop every time and all the time when travelling by themselves.


2 Problem statement

Visually impaired commuters travelling alone often face challenges with boarding the right bus and alighting at their desired stop. Technology such as mobile phone applications and voice-operated technology can be implemented to alleviate the problem.

3 Purpose statement

This report proposes ideas to the Land Transport Authority with the aim to enhance the commute experiences of the visually impaired and encourage inclusivity in the design of public transportation system.
4 Proposed solutions

To enhance the independent travelling of visual impaired commuters, our team has proposed two solutions, smart bus stop and mobile phone application. With smart technologies, visually impaired commuters are able to commute easily. Features and functions of these smart technologies will be discussed below.


4.1 Use of mobile application
4.1.1 Features and functions
Boarding
1.   Visually impaired at bus stop says his destination to the voice-based apps (different common languages and dialects).
2.   The apps taps on the bus information from the bus-stop to generate the recommended bus service based on fastest, cheapest and most direct which the visually impaired would choose.
3.   The visually impaired would be alerted by the apps through voice (and even vibration if selected) when the desired bus is approaching.
4.   The bus captain will also be alerted of a visually impaired passenger at the next stop through his dashboard.
5.   The bus captain would alight at the bus stop to assist the visually impaired with boarding if there no one else to assist the latter.

Alighting
1.   Both the visually impaired and the bus captain would be alerted again (through their respective channels) when the bus is reaching the desired stop based on the computation by the apps using location positioning technology.
2.   The bus captain would render assistance again as needed.


4.2 Smart bus stop
4.2.1 Features and functions
The smart features of bus stop include user interactive panel located in the bus shelter (see appendix A) and LED display screen installed on the bus stop pole (see appendix B). The interactive panel is a touchscreen LCD display monitor, which have both bus flagging and journey planner capabilities. The LED display screen informs the bus captain of the flag down bus that a visually impaired commuter is ready to board the bus.

For bus flagging function, user will be able to make selection of the bus services through tapping of the icon on the interactive panel. Once selection has been made, the interactive panel will prompt for a confirmation where the user would then tap the SG Enabled concession card on the card reader to confirm their choice.

Upon confirmation of the authenticity of visually impaired commuter, the audio speaker will sound off the selected bus service and the timing that the bus would take to arrive at the bus stop. Concurrently, the system will send the user’s selected choice to the LED display screen, where the bus number, together with an icon of visually handicapped person, will be flashed. This would inform the bus captain of the selected bus service to know that a visually impaired commuter would be boarding the bus, allowing him/her to render any assistance, if required.
Once the selected bus service arrives at the bus stop, the audio speaker will sound off the bus service number loud and clear that it has reached, informing the visually impaired commuter to get ready to board the bus. Once the bus left the bus bay, the LED display will be updated again.

The lower part of the smart board shows the bus services information in braille, allowing the visually impaired commuters to find out the bus services available at the bus stop.


For journey planner function, the user is able to plan their journey to their destination via the shortest travelling time. The user first selects the journey planner application. When the interactive panel prompt for their destination, a button is pressed on the voice recognition microphone and the user will speak the destination into the system. The planner would then display and tell the user the shortest travelling route.

Saturday, 14 October 2017

Reader's response draft 3


In the article “Floor lights help ‘smartphone zombies’ keep eye on the road” Tan (2017) reported that the LED strips implanted in the walkways create safety awareness for pedestrians to stay alert on the road. The half-year pilot by Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be implemented at two different junctions, proximity to well-known establishments of high human traffic. The LED strips are conspicuous, resembling the conventional red and green man traffic signals. Public’s response on the suitability and functional use of the LED strips will be first evaluated before making it available to other junctions. Reports from the traffic police stated that elderly pedestrians contribute to considerable proportion of accidents, however, ‘smartphone zombies’ are still the primary cause of the accident.
Distracted walking will cause personal accident, results in increasing the chance of getting injured. In the article “Dangers of texting while walking” (n.d.), an example of such incident occurred at a subway station in the United States, where a man is texting on his phone and he is so obsessed until he falls onto the train track. He manages to get out of the track safely as the train has yet to arrive at the station. As technologies advance, these smartphone addicts put too much focus on their phones during walking. They tend not notice something or someone in front of them, hence, results in an accident.
As the use of mobile gadgets have increasingly become part of everyday life, taking eyes off from the road and being unaware of the surrounding can threaten your life. In the article “Caught on dash cam: Girl, checking phone, is hit while crossing road at green man” (2015), a video of a girl knocked down by a taxi circulated rapidly. In this video, the young girl is seen crossing the traffic junction while using her phone, oblivious to the oncoming taxi approaching her making a right turn. As the taxi could not stop in time, she got knock down. Although the traffic light is in her favour, she should still be alert and pay more attention to her surroundings instead of assuming the vehicle will stop for her while crossing the road. 
According to a research study in the U.S., Maminta (2014) reported that young adults of age range 18 to 24 are susceptible to injury from colliding into a person or static object while using their phone during walking. This age range is the highest amongst the rest of the people surveyed. In another article, Lee (2015) reported that a group of four undergraduates from Nanyang Technological University conducted a survey on distracted walking. A total of 419 youth aged 17 to 25 were surveyed and 598 accidents were disclosed. From their findings, the three main causes of distractions are listening to music, texting and talking on the phone. Other consequences include trip and fall and horned by vehicles. 
In conclusion, although the LED strips may be effective in tackling smartphone addicts, however the responsibility still lies on individual to keep a safe lookout. Accidents can be avoided when these ‘smartphone zombies’ could stop using their mobile gadgets and be wary of their surroundings.


Reference:

Adam S. Kutner. (n.d.). Dangers of texting while walking. Retrieved October 12, 2017, from 

Ho, O. (2015). Caught on dash cam: Girl, checking phone, is hit while crossing road at green 

Lee, P. (2017) Using your phone as you walk may get you in an accident. Retrieved, September 26, 

Maminta, J. (2014). Have You Experienced 'Distracted Walking' While Using Your Cell 

Tan, C. (2017). Floor lights help 'smartphone zombies' keep eye on the road. Retrieved 

Tuesday, 3 October 2017

Reader's response draft 2


In the article “Floor lights help ‘smartphone zombies’ keep eye on the road” Tan (2017), states that LED strips installed in walkways creates safety awareness by helping smartphone addicts to stay alert on the road. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be introducing a half-year pilot program on the pricey LED strips at two different junctions due to large number of pedestrians of “different demographics”. The LED lights are conspicuous in the day, resembling the conventional red and green man signals of the traffic light, which allow the authority to evaluate the suitability and the functional use of the feature in Singapore’s climate conditions. Reports from the Traffic Police indicates a rise in the number of pedestrian injuries and fatal accidents, such initiative will make road crossing a safer experience for all pedestrians. 
The statistics proved the surge in traffic accidents are largely pedestrians, however the author put the blame on elderly pedestrians for causing the hike. The primary cause is still actually due to the ‘smartphone zombie’.
There are no specific statistical data to substantiate the evidence in Singapore, but there are news articles that report on the accidents involving pedestrians. According to an article “Using your phone as you walk may get you in an accident” Lee (2015) reported that a group of four undergraduates from Nanyang Technological University conducted a survey on distracted walking. A total of 419 youth aged 17 to 25 were surveyed and 598 accidents were disclosed. From their findings, the three main causes of distractions are listening to music, texting and talking on the phone. Other consequences include trip and fall and horned by vehicles. The consequences stated by these students may be minor, what happen if the consequences are severe? 
As the use of mobile gadgets have increasingly become part of everyday life, taking eyes off from the road and being unaware of the surrounding can threaten your life. In the article “Caught on dash cam: Girl, checking phone, is hit while crossing road at green man” Ho (2015), a video of a girl knocked down by a taxi during midnight circulated rapidly. In this video, the young girl was seen crossing the traffic junction while using her phone, oblivious to the oncoming taxi approaching her making a right turn. As the taxi could not stop in time, she got hit. Although the traffic light was in her favour, she should still be alert and pay more attention to her surroundings instead of assuming the vehicle will stop for her while crossing the road. 
In another similar case of using mobile devices causing distractions, from the article “Boy, 17, taken to hospital after getting hit by bus” thenewpaper (2016) stated that a 17 years teenager got into an accident with a bus while using his handphone. He was then conveyed to the hospital and had head injuries.
From the three evidences shown above, being engrossed in using mobile devices will cause divided attention, reducing vision field which will result in endangering the safety of the road users and oneself.
The elderly pedestrians are vulnerable to rapid traffic movement, putting themselves at a higher risk of danger. In the article “20% jump in number of accident involving elderly pedestrians” Ng (2017), reported that there were 268 elderly-related accidents in 2016, an increase from 19.6 per cent in 2015. Death was 28 per cent, of which 16 cases are due to jaywalking. The reason being that the elderly has a slow reflex and unable to react fast, resulting in the increment of accidents.
In conclusion, although the elderly makes up a small percentage of the accident, the main driver is primarily the “smartphone zombie”. LED strips might be effective in tackling smartphone addicts, however the responsibility still lies on individual to keep a lookout in order to stay safe.


Reference:
Ho, O. (2015, April 24). Caught on dash cam: Girl, checking phone, is hit while crossing road at green 

Lee, P. (2017) Using your phone as you walk may get you in an accident. Retrieved, September 26, 

Ng, K. (2017, February 16). 20% jump in number of accidents involving elderly pedestrians. 

Tan, C. (2017, May 10). Floor lights help 'smartphone zombies' keep eye on the road. Retrieved 

The newpaper. (2016, February 21). Boy, 17, taken to hospital after getting hit by bus. Retrieved


Edited:
09/10/17