Monday, October 27, 2014

"Smart" Floors Help Visually Impaired Travelers Find Their Way

After recently wearing a "sight-impairment" aid (a set of goggles that blocked out most light and only allowed me to see fuzzy shapes of dark or light), I can see how this would work.

The tiles of Edmonton International Airport don't just look nice, they help visually impaired people find their way around.

The colored tiles help because some visually impaired people have poor depth perception.
Monochrome flooring in the terminal all look the same and make it hard to judge distance.

Tiles of various color and pattern make it easier for visually impaired people to view though. They also use carpet to direct travelers. The texture of the carpet and the height of the pile serve as wayfinding clues.

"Skift" has more on these so-called "Smart Floors."

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About SRTC

SRTC is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Spokane County. Urbanized areas with populations exceeding 50,000 people are required to have an MPO. SRTC was formed to address the county's transportation planning needs. It provides coordination in planning between the public, cities, small towns, the county, the state, transit providers, and tribes.

SRTC offers services including transportation monitoring, transportation modeling, census information analysis, travel demand forecasting, historical traffic count analysis, geographic information systems, and trip generation rates.