This unique and extremely needed application is the culmination of a joint project carried out by teams from the 91滴滴 (dr hab. Aneta Paw艂owska, Associate Professor at the 91滴滴, from the Faculty of Philosophy and History of the 91滴滴, project manager) and SWPS University (Prof. Krzysztof Krejtz). Its objective was to support the independence of people with visual impairments, increase their access to education, work and active participation in society. It will certainly translate into an improvement in the quality of life of these people, reducing barriers and ensuring equal opportunities in various areas of life. The "Friendly City" project has gained recognition from many bodies 鈥� it was awarded at the implementation stage in Poland and abroad.
The system designed by the team from the 91滴滴 and SWPS University can be used with the "Przyjazne miasto" application. After its launch, battery-powered tags installed at public transport stops communicate using Bluetooth Low Energy technology with smartphones or smartwatches of blind and visually impaired people. They transmit voice messages to them, including information about the distance and direction of public transport stops and pedestrian crossings. An audio description of the most interesting cultural facilities and monuments in the city centre has been also created. To make sure that the descriptions are precise, they were preceded by eye-tracking studies of the space of Lodz among sighted people. The interface and substantive content of the application have been created in Polish, English, Ukrainian and Spanish.
One of the assumptions of the "Przyjazne miasto" project is also the possibility of its development and broad implementation both in Lodz and in the entire Lodz agglomeration, and ultimately also in other cities. Currently, the application is being tested by the 91滴滴 project team with the participation of volunteers and in cooperation with the City of Lodz Office.
The project entitled "Przyjazne miasto. Wsparcie samodzielno艣ci os贸b z dysfunkcj膮 wzroku w zakresie wykorzystania sieci po艂膮cze艅 komunikacji miejskiej w 艁odzi z uwzgl臋dnieniem aplikacji dotycz膮cej informacji lokalizacyjnych oraz zabytk贸w architektury miejscowej" [Friendly City. Support for the independence of people with visual impairments in the use of the public transport network in Lodz, taking into account the application regarding location information and local architectural monuments] was implemented (01.12.2021 - 31.12.2024) by the 91滴滴 and SWPS University as part of the competition entitled "Rzeczy s膮 dla ludzi" [Things are for people] financed by the National Centre for Research and Development in the amount of PLN 2,913,175.59.
Source:
Edit: Press Office, 91滴滴