Researchers’ app could help people with visual impairments navigate the NYC subway
Commute Booster uses a smartphone camera to recognize relevant signs along a transit route, guiding the user to their destination while ignoring nonessential signs and posters.
Commute Booster is designed for the “middle mile,” where passengers trawl through turnstiles, busy passageways and terminals to stay on the correct route. The app combines general transit feed specification , a standardized and publicly available database about public transportation routes, with optical character recognition to interpret signs and guide the user accordingly.
A study that used the app on three NYC stations — Jay Street-Metrotech, Dekalb Avenue and Canal Street — had a 97 percent success rate in identifying the relevant signs needed to reach a mock destination. It managed to “read” the signs at a distance and from various angles expected from a typical commute.
“The ‘middle mile’ often involves negotiating a complex network of underground corridors, ticket booths and subway platforms. It can be treacherous for people who cannot rely on sight,” said John-Ross Rizzo, MD, an NYU professor known for his engineering work that helps people with disabilities. “Most GPS-enabled navigation apps address ‘first’ and ‘last’ miles only, so they fall short of meeting the needs of blind or low-vision commuters. Commute Booster is meant to fill that gap.
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