Helmut Heck

Architectural Concepts of a Semi-autonomous Wheelchair

A new smart, sensor-assisted wheelchair system for the vocational rehabilitation of people with severe and multiple handicap has been developed in the research project OMNI within the CEC TIDE programme. The project finished in December 1996. The objective of the project was the development of an advanced wheelchair with omnidirectional manoeuvrability and navigational intelligence that is well suited for vocational rehabilitation. It provides an opportunity of intuitive wheelchair control to people with severe physical or multiple (incl. mental) handicap. Cramped offices are made accessible by the small outline, high mobility and navigational support of the chair. The users safety and driving accuracy are guaranteed by a novel sensor system and navigation modules. A wide range of control devices can be used with the adaptable human-machine interface which also controls environmental devices. Within this project, the user focused principle has strongly been followed (this includes the involvement of users from the preparatory work to the evaluation of the results).

How to Inform People with Reduced Mobility about Public Transport

The German project BAIM supports the active and indepen dent participation of people with reduced mobility in public transport. It focuses on the provision of accessible and adaptable information services with target group oriented information about suitable travelling options or potential barriers, before and during the journey. The information is provided via internet and via an interactive telephone service with speech-recognition. The system has been implemented and tested in two integrated public transport systems, Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund and Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Branden burg, covering a population of 11 Mio. people, with a strong emphasis on user participation in all project phases. Main parts of the system went public in January 2008.

User feed-back in the development of an information system for public transport

Within the German projects BAIM and BAIM plus, information services for people with reduced mobility have been developed. These accessible and adaptable services provide information on public transport. The challenge was to provide sufficient information so that accessible, barrier free journeys can be planned in advance and undertaken in real life. These services are available on the internet and on telephones (mobile phones) prior to and while travelling. User evaluation of these developed and implemented services lead to notable suggestions for further development activities.

Monitoring Accessibility of Governmental Web Sites in Europe

Web accessibility is an important goal of the European i2010 strategy. Several one-off surveys of eAccessibility have been conducted in the past few years. In this paper, we describe an approach to supplement the results of such surveys with automated assessments, that can easily be repeated at regular intervals. The software basis is provided by the European Internet Accessibility Observatory (EIAO). We analyse how the data collected by EIAO can be compared to other surveys.

A uniform control interface for various electronic aids

The operation of technical aids by disabled and elderly people leads to enormous difficulties because users have to deal with different control philosophies and user interface concepts for each technical aid used. Therefore a point of general interest is not only the pure support function of the aid itself, but especially its human machine interface and the interdependencies with further aids used by the same handicapped person. A computer-based user interface management system is presented that allows an assistive person to individually tailored a human computer interface to the users needs and capabilities which allows the handicapped user to operate very different devices by the same principle and mechanism of control.

The Mobile Travel Assistance System NAMO with Way-Finding Support in Public Transport Environments

Many older people rely on public transport to maintain their personal mobility and thus quality of life. However, problems may arise in unfamiliar environments or during unexpected events. Especially when changing trains in complex stations, many people experience orientation problems or feel insecure and overwhelmed. The namo travel assistant combines technical and human support during the journey. The users can choose the presentation of the information which suits them most: The application offers photos with directional arrows, station plans with marked paths, and contact to a service hotline to get direct support. In this way, namo helps maintain personal mobility in old age while offering an increased sense of security.

Co-creation of a Mobile City District Guide with and for Older Adults.

In the European project Mobile-Age co-creation processes of digital mobile services with older adults have been studied. In order to experience such co-creation, several mobile apps applying open data have been developed in a structured co-creation process with senior citizens. Scientific work comprises the evaluation of the co-creation process itself, methods of co-creation, the exploration of representations of city maps for older adults, and the technical development and service provision. As an example, the paper describes the co-creation of a demonstrator application of a city district guide for the district of Bremen-Hemelingen.

BAIM–Information for people with reduced mobility in the field of public transport

The German project BAIM aims at supporting or enabling the active and independent participation of people with reduced mobility in public transportation by the provision of usergroup-oriented accessible information services on barrier-free travelling opportunities. Existing regional and nation-wide information services are enhanced with static and dynamic information on the accessibility of public transportation vehicles, buildings and other facilities which form part of a barrier-free travelling chain. Information and services will be accessible before and during the travel.

Adaptable User Interfaces for People with Special Needs

The operation of computer-based aids by disabled and elderly people leads to enormous difficulties because of different control philosophies and user interface concepts for various applications. The developed UIMS allows an assistive person to tailor a human computer interface to the users individual needs and capabilities, which allows the handicapped user to operate different aids for communication, environmental control, manipulation and mobility by the same principle and mechanism of control.