Creating a Smartphone App to Assist Older People when Travelling by Public Transport The ASSISTANT Project Philip Barham (Transport & Travel Research) Presented by: Fiona McLean (Transport & Travel Research)

ASSISTANT – The Essentials o Sponsored by the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Joint Programme, and NCPs in Austria, Finland, France, Spain and UK o 3-year project: €2.67m o June 2012 – May 2015 o Coordinator: Tecnalia (Stefan Carmien)

Aims of ASSISTANT o To assist older people in using public transport o To enhance older people’s comfort and confidence when using public transport o To create a commercially viable product by 2017

Target Audience “More mobile” older people (aged 65+) Limited experience of using public transport Limited experience with accessing information online

Key Phases of Project Year 1: Concept Phase – User needs review and evaluations Year 2: Pilot Phase – evaluations Year 3: Prototype Phase – evaluations

Concept Phase Informal interviews 3 Focus Groups – Austria, France, Spain Mock-ups of user interface

Pilot Phase On-street evaluations –Helsinki, San Sebastián, Vienna Shadowing using “Wizard of Oz” techniques Informal interviews, travel diary, questionnaires

Prototype Phase Happening this week! Training workshop and presentation 2 week testing with travel diary Technical support on call Evaluation questionnaire

System Architecture

Main Features of App o Requirement: A smartphone and a home PC o Travel support in planning a trip o Guidance on which vehicle to board o Notification of when to get off the vehicle o Navigation assistance to final destination o Active help for dealing with disruptions and service alterations o Personalised

System: Finer Points o Presents “Push to User” information, i.e. only what the user needs to know, when the information is needed o Has an error trapping and contextualisation function – it expects errors o Can be personalised to each user’s physical and cognitive capabilities

Alternative Navigation Modes CompassMap

Challenges and Barriers Fast pace of app development Quality of GPS and its accuracy in the urban pedestrian environment Using two technologies together Low smartphone ownership & use among older people

Thank you for your attention! Further information at o o o Linked In Discussion Group