Mobility Assistance Matching for Building Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobility applications provided by transportation network companies do not enable users to obtain mobility assistance from within buildings or specific locations, such as residences or venues, and fail to match users with service providers based on specific needs like disabilities, leading to reduced confidence and accessibility for individuals with mobility challenges.
Innovation Solution
A method and processing circuitry that provides detailed mapping information to assist users in determining journey viability, matches users with companions based on specific needs, and facilitates multimodal personal transportation, including non-vehicular navigation and video/audio conferencing, to overcome mobility gaps and provide assistance for users with disabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional TNC mobility applications are used, then vehicular transportation can be provided, but users cannot obtain mobility assistance within buildings or specific locations
Solution Approach 1:
The journey is segmented into multiple modes: vehicular transportation for external travel and non-vehicular mobility assistance for building-internal navigation. The system divides the transportation service into complementary segments that address different spatial contexts, allowing users to complete journeys that span both vehicular and pedestrian environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobility application is transformed into a multi-functional system that provides both traditional ride-hailing services and building-internal navigation assistance. The same platform serves dual purposes: arranging vehicular transportation and coordinating human companions for accessibility support within venues, thereby expanding adaptability without requiring separate systems.
2Adaptability or versatility
If TNC mobility applications provide general transportation services, then ride matching can be achieved, but users are not matched with service providers based on specific needs such as disabilities
Solution Approach 1:
Users pre-register their specific mobility needs, disabilities, and requirements in advance within the application profile. This preliminary action allows the matching algorithm to automatically consider these factors when assigning companions, eliminating the need for complex real-time assessments and reducing the perceived complexity for users while enabling高度 customization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a specialized matching algorithm as an intermediary between users and potential companions. This mediator automatically processes user needs, companion capabilities, and compatibility factors to generate optimal matches, thereby managing complexity centrally rather than requiring complex user-side decision-making or manual coordination.
3Loss of information
If detailed mapping information is provided for mobility challenges, then users can determine journey viability, but the system must collect and maintain extensive accessibility data
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables venues, building operators, and even users themselves to contribute accessibility data directly to the platform. This self-service approach allows the database to grow and maintain itself through community contributions and automated data collection from partner venues, reducing the burden on centralized data management while improving information completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
Accessibility information for venues is collected and validated in advance before users need it. The system pre-populates accessibility databases with detailed information about elevators, ramps, accessible restrooms, and other mobility-relevant features, so users receive complete information without real-time data collection complexity during their actual journey planning.
4Reliability
If the system provides multimodal transportation assistance, then users can complete 100% of desired journeys, but coordination between different transportation modes becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the ride-hailing platform with building-internal navigation and companion-matching services into a single integrated workflow. Users receive unified trip itineraries that seamlessly combine vehicular transportation segments with pedestrian navigation segments, and the system automatically coordinates handoff points between modes, thereby achieving high journey completion rates while managing complexity through integration rather than separate systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Processing circuitry provided in a mobile device of a user requiring mobility assistance is programmed to: request multimodal personal transportation assistance from a pool of candidate companions, receive a location of a selected companion and a proposed route between the user to the selected companion, and determine an estimated time of arrival of the selected companion at a current location of the user. The proposed route includes pedestrian travel and the request for multimodal personal transportation identifies any specific needs of the user.