Launched last week in Paris (France), the Mobile Transit Companion delivers customized data to passengers with special needs. The mobile application was developed at Toronto’s Ryerson University (ON) in in partnership with Sweden’s Appear Networks. Commuters on the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens can download the free application to receive contextual information, such as the location of elevators, transfer points, and station services.
The app uses a speech-enabled, gesture-driven user interface for blind and low-vision passengers and incorporates a social tracking feature, which allows the transit authority to send messages directly to special needs customers. “At Ryerson we see a very niche use for context-aware computing in public transit and Intelligent Transport Systems,” said project leader Hossein Rahnama. “With RATP, our focus was on passengers with special needs because those communities could really benefit from such applications, even though they are often not considered when developing apps.” Link to full press release.
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