Autonomous vehicles will change the lives of those living with disabilities giving them a freedom and independence they do not currently have. FAR’s patent pending ultra wide-band (UWB) technology and FAVI system ensure these vehicles will be accessible for those with disabilities including blindness, cognitive disabilities, and those with age related impairments. What happens once you leave your accessible vehicle? Our UWB technology is easily deployed outside a vehicle and can provide pinpoint navigation to and through any facility as well as provide real-time information. One of the most needed types of location for this technology are airports. Airports are a huge challenge for those with disabilities, and that is especially problematic for those with visual impairments. Navigating an airport blind generally requires getting an escort once you attempt to find the ticket counter. Many times these escorts are not very well trained. Once you do get dropped at your gate, you are stuck there until your flight leaves which can be a long wait as you likely arrived early to avoid any problems. Things have recently started to change for the better with the announcement of the US Department of Transportation’s Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights. Although this Bill of Rights doesn’t directly involve Autonomous Vehicles, we look at the Inclusive Design Challenge as Autonomous Vehicles and beyond. By spreading our technology throughout cities, we can make simple navigation utilizing our ultra wide-band technology a standard and a facility requirement for the visually impaired, which will ensure it will be implemented in all Autonomous Vehicles as they come into fruition as well as all ride-share services. All of the 10 items in the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights are important steps, but 2 of them stand out in particular: The right to receive information in an accessible format, and The right to accessible airport facilities. We can ensure these 2 items utilizing our FAVI system and ultra wide-band technology. Receiving information at the airport in an accessible format is essential to independent travel. Currently a user can try to find information regarding their flight and gate utilizing the airlines website or app. This can be challenging as some of the airlines apps and websites are not fully accessible, and this information is limiting as it doesn’t provide information regarding the airport facilities or even other airlines if you are changing to a different carrier at a layover. Our FAVI system was designed in a modular fashion and can easily integrate an existing airport data feed into the FAVI app to provide all the needed information to a user in one place. Utilizing our UWB tags, we can also provide location relevant information in a fully accessible format. Essentially making any sign smart so that it communicates through the FAVI app in an accessible format. Imagine standing outside security at an unfamiliar airport. A low cost installed FAR UWB tag can tell our FAVI app exactly where the user is and provide real-time sign information about the security area from wait times to any extra security measure in place, or where the disability line is. Placing these same low cost FAR UWB tags throughout an airport will allow a user to accurately and fully independently traverse an airport from their Autonomous Vehicle drop-off point right to their gate, or a restaurant, or a restroom. Our technology will alleviate a huge stress point for those traveling with disabilities and allow for a fully accessible trip utilizing an AV from home all the way to the gate of their flight without having the wait and problems that come with getting an escort at the airport. The US Department of Transportation’s Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights is a huge step forward for the disabled community, and we are excited about the possibilities it brings.
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