Deployment of the Pedestrian ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) to Enable Next-Generation Traffic to be Barrier-Free

FUJITSU FIP CORPORATION

A broad range of next-generation traffic systems, known collectively as Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), are now being put into practical use through extensive development and applications. In parallel with the sophistication of traffic navigation systems, ITS has begun to provide diverse services for private cars, commercial vehicles, public transportation and pedestrians. Amongst other things, the "pedestrian navigation," a system that combines wearable devices and mobile phones with GPS/GIS (Geographic Information System), is expected to eventually deliver barrier-free traffic, supporting those who are less mobile such as the elderly and the handicapped. Featured in this special report is how Fujitsu FIP is addressing next-generation barrier-free traffic systems (Pedestrian ITS) with their unique technologies and ideas.

Nagano Olympics, Where It Started

In 1998, from February 7th through 22nd, the Nagano Olympic Winter Games were held at venues in five municipalities consisting of the City of Nagano, the towns of Yamanouchi and Karuizawa and villages of Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen. In the competition, 3,773 athletes from 72 countries and regions participated in 7 events in 68 sports. It is probably still fresh in your memory that the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who staged the event, praised the Nagano Games for its "best organization."

However, what isn't well known is that during the Nagano Olympics, a timed system was deployed on an experimental basis and it won international praise in the field as high as the competition itself.

What was experimentally implemented there was the "Pedestrian Route Guidance System," a project in which Fujitsu FIP Corp. participated. It is a system generally called pedestrian navigation, which utilizes a combination of personal mobile terminals and PHS (Personal Handyphone System).

The Pedestrian Route Guidance System was made available to Nagano Olympic visitors as part of the Ministry of Construction's demonstration of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). A user was given directions to the desired destination (stadium, medal ceremony site, etc.) through his/her Zaurus (Sharp's PDA), which identifies the location of the user based on the information transmitted from PHS base stations. This system guided the Olympic visitors, especially foreigners, who were unfamiliar with the host region (Nagano City and the other four municipalities) and its public transportation to the destinations via the "shortest" or "least congested" routes without having them lose their way.

It may not be wrong to assume that this unprecedented pedestrian navigation system contributed to the internationally praised operational success of the Nagano Olympic Games.

More Advanced Navigation: A Pioneering Trial in a Cosmopolitan City

Encouraged by the success in the Nagano Olympics, Fujitsu FIP has evolved the Pedestrian Route Guidance System into their own original Pedestrian ITS (see illustration below). People in many fields are casting expectant looks at the system that offers advanced navigation not only with simple pedestrian routing functions but also with additional barrier-free options such as sorting several destinations and displaying information about available public transportation and wheelchair accessibility.

The system's major features are:

(1) Tour route search from any place

The system can sort multiple spots to visit, regardless of the order you have assigned them, and create the optimum tour route. This tour route search function automatically decides the most efficient order to visit the places you have specified on your PC's digital map and displays on the map the route and the stops, together with available public transportation such as buses.

(2) Support for wheelchair users

The system provides various services, ranging from information about parking, events, community bus operations and wheelchair-accessible coffee shops and toilets to parking fee payments.

These excellent functions and features have been further developed and applied to show train and bus transit information (i.e. navigation from the present location to the destination that includes a walking route to the nearest station and the train/bus route information thereafter).

Move Toward Barrier-free Pedestrian Traffic: Systems Evolution to Boost Mobility

Suppose you are in a wheelchair and want to simulate a day assisted by the Pedestrian ITS as illustrated on the previous page.

(1) You drive into a parking lot and are assigned a wider space, as you are a wheelchair user.

(2) A large monitor in the lot is showing a live picture of a featured event. You rent a mobile terminal (PDA), find out which bus stop is the nearest to your destination and then take a community bus to the destination. As it's a low-floor bus, you have no problem getting on and off it in the wheelchair.

(3) Supported by the local government and police department, the community bus is given signal priority along the route. Thus you can reach the destination smoothly.

(4) You get off the bus at the stop you have checked with your wearable terminal and head for the destination store. As the route to the store seems a little complicated, you review the directions from the bus stop with your terminal.

(5) When done with shopping at the store, you stroll around the street and drop by a clothing store, where you buy a shirt on impulse.

(6) You are tired after shopping and enter a coffee shop to rest. You can easily find a coffee shop and a toilet that are wheelchair-accessible with your wearable terminal.

(7) On your way back, you watch the event, the live picture of which was shown on the large monitor in the parking lot.

(8) From the bus stop, you ride on a community bus to get back to the parking lot.

(9) At the parking lot, you return the mobile terminal and pay a parking fee before you leave.

Thus ends your day trip assisted by the Pedestrian ITS.

The long lasting problem of making public transportation barrier-free finally found a full-scale solution when the Traffic Barrier-Free Law was enacted in 2000. The law is given rather high marks for its extensive coverage of what station squares and streets, besides public transportation, should be. However, it's undeniable that Japan has a long way to go when it comes to infrastructure. Furthermore, "development of a user-friendly environment" for the people with less mobility such as the elderly and the disabled is an urgent matter for a rapidly aging country. According to estimation, in 2005, 19.6 percent of the nation's population will be aged 65 or older. In 2015, the figure is projected to reach as high as 25.2 percent. When a barrier-free society is realized, mobility of the elderly, the disabled and others will be dramatically improved, successfully delivering a safe, comfortable community.

Another Approach to Barrier-Free: GI Stones to Assist the Vision Impaired

Providing a barrier-free traffic environment for the vision impaired is important as much as removing traffic barriers for the elderly and wheelchair users is. Audio route guidance is suitable for this purpose.

Here's how the audio route guidance system (including position tracking and audio navigation) works:

(1) The user chooses a destination with the wearable device (speech recognition supported).

(2) The system identifies the user's location.

a. While outdoors, the GPS works.

b. While indoors or underground, GI Stones (Geographical Information Stones: fixed infrastructure for route guidance) work.

(3) The device specifies a course from the present location to the given destination.

(4) The audio messages from the wearable device guide the user as he/she proceeds.

a. Within the area with GI Stones, the device and the Stones interact to locate the user. Audio guidance is provided as needed.

b. Within the area without GI Stones, the user location is regularly checked by the GPS to provide audio guidance as needed.

(5) Communications between the route guidance service server and the wearable device are allowed either through the service operator's dedicated circuits or through mobile phone networks.

Other Services Available through Pedestrian ITS

Fujitsu FIP is finding applications for ITS in many different fields, including measures against natural disasters, provision of traffic information and diversification of its media, measures to facilitate smooth traffic flow, reduced impact on the environment and mobility assistance (to the disabled, the elderly and strangers in the area). This article has focused on the field of mobility assistance especially with the use of personal mobile terminals. Now let's have a brief look at other possible applications of the Pedestrian ITS.

*Displaying the timetable of the nearest station

A service to display timetables of the nearest station and bus stop: Based on an estimation of the time it takes you to reach the station, the system shows the departure time of a train or a bus you will be able to catch.

*Displaying town information

A service to display the information of the area you are in. If you are in a department store, the system shows detailed information about it.

*Pedestrian ETC

You do not have to buy tickets to use public transportation since payment is automatically processed through wireless communications between your mobile terminal and the wireless device in place at ticket gates.

*Displaying administrative information

A service to display various pieces of administrative information such as roadwork sites and other traffic regulations around you: It can be also used for disaster information notification.

*Displaying welfare information

A service to display information about welfare facilities in the area: For example, it lists the stores that accept guide dogs.

*Locating others

A service to show where a specific person is

Thus, Fujistu FIP is ready to offer many different services related to traffic, pedestrians and other information while evolving them in new directions.