Those with disabilities may soon be a button-push away from easier travel.
Through the work of researchers in UT’s College of Engineering, an app designed to assist individuals with disabilities when using public transportation may soon become open to the public. In conjunction with the handicap transportation service Knox County Community Action Committee, users of the app will be able to alert their driver of any of their problems or needs that might otherwise go unaddressed due to their physical or mental disabilities.
By examining survey results of more than 600 disabled individuals in five surrounding counties, graduate student and research member Lavanya Marella found that the number one barrier to transportation for disabled persons lies in communication.
“We are hoping this is going to help (commuters with disabilities) tell the driver about their needs,” Marella said of the app, which uses around 95 descriptions and icons to increase communication effectiveness between CAC passengers and drivers.
Citing the “different state of mind” disabled travelers often possess, fellow researcher and graduate student Isaac Atuahene said he hopes the app will help to eliminate the too frequent difficulties associated with handicap travel.
“This app hopefully would be able to initiate the communication between (people with disabilities) and the driver and help him to address the need,” Atuahene said.
Rupy Sawhney, professor in industrial engineering and leader of the research team, credits his now-deceased colleague Eric Arendt for developing the idea for the app. Arendt, who Sawhney described as a “very mature, very gentle, very thoughtful” man, was inspired to create the app after being forced to rely on CAC transportation during his battle with cancer. Arendt passed away this March only hours before the second phase of his project met official approval.
Sawhney said he appreciates the convenience the app provides to the disabled community and said he hopes the information it garners concerning disabled persons may ultimately serve to make their lives easier.
“The importance is not the app,” Sawhney explained. “Now we can decipher this data in terms of what disabilities have what communication barriers.”
Viewing the app as “just one symbol of what can be done,” Sawhney said he hopes to one day charge a minimal fee for the use of the app in order to raise funds to improve the lives of people with disabilities.
“This is something that I’m proud of because we’re trying something different,” Sawhney said of his group’s efforts. “It will have an impact on people’s lives.”
Sawhney and his group of graduate researchers plan to meet with Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero this Saturday to discuss usefulness and further applications of their creation. The research team expects the app to be available for public use by the end of the year.
