$4.7 Million Grant To Improve Public Transport For Disabled

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$4.7 Million Grant To Improve Public Transport For Disabled

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/131599.php

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University at

Buffalo (UB), State University of New York, are collaborating on a

five-year, $4.7 million effort to advance public transportation for

people with disabilities by bringing together computer science

technology and the principles of universal design.

Their grant from the U.S. Department of Education's National

Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) is

funding a new Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on

Accessible Public Transportation. The center will develop ways to

empower consumers and transit service providers in the design and

evaluation of accessible transportation equipment, information

services and physical environments.

The center's principal investigator and co-director is

Steinfeld, a systems scientist at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics

Institute who works on human-robot interaction and intelligent

transportation systems in the university's Quality of Life Technology

Engineering Research Center.

Steinfeld will be co-directing the new center with his father

Steinfeld, a professor of architecture at UB who heads the Center for

Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA). The IDEA Center

improves the design of environments and products by making them more

usable, safe and appealing to people with a wide range of abilities.

The center is a world leader in universal design, an important

component of the new RERC's work. The team also includes the United

Spinal Association, an organization that focuses on improving the

quality of life of Americans with spinal cord injuries and disorders,

which will focus on developing transportation regulations and

standards.

" This grant establishes a partnership between the IDEA Center at UB,

known internationally as a center of excellence in universal design,

with the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, known

internationally as a center of excellence in robotics, " said

Steinfeld. " We expect this partnership to make a significant impact

on the usability of public transportation for all riders. We will be

completing research that is extremely timely and needed by the

industry. We have business partners, including manufacturers and

consumer advocacy organizations, that will help to implement research

findings and disseminate information that directly improve

transportation services, vehicles and facilities. "

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) in Buffalo and

the Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh will assist the

researchers as they develop new technologies and concepts. An

important area of research will be the design of access and interiors

for buses. California-based Gillig Corp., the nation's largest

manufacturer of heavy-duty mass transit buses, will incorporate, at

their own expense, the modifications designed by the RERC into a new

NFTA bus. The bus will be a prototype containing new interior

concepts that are ready for commercialization.

" One of the key aspects of the project is to get input from transit

users, " said Carnegie Mellon's Steinfeld. " We will be

evaluating ways to enable transit users and providers to be citizen

scientists to collect and utilize data about the transit experience. "

The team will create a public Web site where riders can report on

their experiences and collaborate with transit providers on ways to

improve the transportation system. The team also will use advances in

machine learning to develop software that can assist riders in

reaching their destinations.