EasyWheel - A Mobile Social Navigation and Support System for Wheelchair Users

Large cities are built and designed based on the needs of mobile people, architectural preferences and budgets. Unfortunately, this constitutes a big disadvantaged for those with mobility disabilities. Wheelchair users are regularly hindered by barriers from participating in daily life on their own. The research work presented in this paper solves this problem by providing Easy Wheel, a mobile social navigation and support system for wheelchair users. Easy Wheel allows them to access accessibility information for all sorts of points of interests (POI)such as public transport, shops, etc and helps them navigate throughout a city while following the ideal route and avoiding all barriers and obstacles. To connect Easy Wheel with the whole community of wheelchair users and helpers, Easy Wheel includes a social community system including reputation and reward features leveraging Face book. This connection enables Easy Wheel to gather currently not available but essential wheelchair accessibility for POIs as well as wheelchair routing information data from all community members using a mobile and/or browser/Face book based Easy Wheel application client.