e-Adept is a unique cooperative project within the areas of personal navigation, travel planning and safety. The aim of the project is to provide a mobility enabling solution to increase pedestrian accessibility for elderly people and people with disabilities.
The service facilities are offered via a mobile telephone. Positioning equipment is connected to the hand unit. The positioning unit is based on GPS and inertia navigation equipment. The combination of these technologies allows for navigation in both urban areas and indoors.
Unlike several existing navigation solutions, e-Adept is based on a digitalized road network for pedestrians and cyclists. Combined with a precise and reliable positioning system, the e-Adept solution provides a much more detailed route indication for the pedestrian user than would the use of road maps aimed at automobile drivers. The pedestrian route network also makes it possible for the user to be guided along sidewalks, pathways and pedestrian crossings.
The pedestrian route network used for the route planning is owned and administered by the cities. This ensures that data is continuously updated in accordance to the daily activities of that city. Auxiliary information can be uploaded to the network, such as temporary road construction work, location of seasonal outdoor restaurants or sidewalk restaurant seating, and the position of stairs.
The calculation of optimal routes and its subsequent visual/audio presentation to the user is based upon the individual user profiles. The user can be warned about a certain kind of obstacles or can get information about how to avoid these obstacles by choosing another route.
The system is continuously fed with relevant information from the municipality and can also retrieve information from various travel planners for public transport. This makes it easier for the user to plan his or her route from door to door via walking or using public transport.
e-Adept is a user focused solution. The e-Adept solution has been developed after numerous tests with specific target groups and ongoing testing ensures that the solution is meeting the needs of the applicable user base. In order to make the service facilities as efficient and user friendly as possible the system can be adapted to a specific target group and to actual individual needs.
For the safety of the user, support functions are integrated in the e-Adept system. These support functions enable the user to contact relevant assistance.
The e-Adept solution has been successfully tested in Stockholm. The intention is to offer this service in most parts of Sweden and possibly even on an international basis.
Various companies will be given the possibility to develop and offer service facilities built on the concept of e-Adept with open interfaces and a consistent geographical infrastructure.
e-Adept – a project based on cooperation
Main financial contributors:
The Swedish Post and Telecom Agency
City of Stockholm Traffic Administration
The Swedish Transport Administration
City of Malmö
The ICT program of VINNOVA
Responsible project organizations:
Astando Inc
Regis Financial Association