Public Funding for Wewalk Limited

There are over 2-million Visually Impaired Individuals(VIIs) in the UK(AgeUK\_2015); globally estimated at 253-million(Ackland\_et\_al\_2017). As populations age, this will increase as sight-loss disproportionally impacts older people. VIIs benefit from the white cane to get around, often in conjunction with smartphone navigation apps. However, this only detects obstacles below knee-height within approximately 1m of the user. Most smartphone interfaces are inaccessible, limiting their usefulness. This makes it challenging for VIIs to safely navigate busy urban areas, particularly railway environments requiring mission-critical navigation and hazard-awareness in limited GPS-availability. To address this challenge, WeWALK have developed a revolutionary "smart" device that screws onto a user's existing cane. It detects obstacles at knee-to-head height and uniquely connects to a user's smartphone to provide audio-based navigation via integration with Google Maps, Moovit, and Microsoft services. Efforts to enhance WeWALK's indoor capabilities resulted in the creation of a new service, WeASSIST. Using a smartphone's camera, WeASSIST connects VIIs with trained agents through video-feed. Supplemented by WeWALK's positioning technology and ease-of-use, agents guide users through any environment, providing personalised descriptions at the user's request. This project will implement WeASSIST in a railway environment, solving last-mile problems where VIIs fail to locate their destination/transport route, creating a comprehensive, safety-critical, and accessible navigation system. WeASSIST is in constant development and can integrate computer-vision for object-recognition and mapping. However, this has not yet been demonstrated with adequate system performance (accuracy/reliability/usability) for rail applications. Partnering with RNIB, we will address the technical/safety challenges preventing widespread uptake of agent-based guidance systems in railway environments. We will build on existing WeWALK/WeASSIST architectures with new software to provide safety-critical functionality to railway operators/customers. This project can play a vital role in ensuring the rising numbers of visually impaired people have full access to rail travel while improving staff availability and customer experience.

There are 12 million elderly people in the UK, many of whom are likely to experience reduced mobility resulting from physical, cognitive, or sensory impairment. Some may even experience several conditions at the same time. To combat this, In 2019/20, the total expenditure on adult social care by local authorities was £23.3 billion. Over half of this was spent on people over 65 years old, the majority of this going to those who need physical support. However, the extent to which each individual is supported in everyday mobility remains unknown and older people continue to experience orientation, mobility, and accessibility challenges. Building on 10+ years of developing various assistive technology for visually impaired people, WeWALK (SME) have invented a sensor-rich smart cane and smartphone application to help people navigate outdoors. The app has both voice and written instructions, as well as full screen reader compatibility and low vision colour filters and text sizes. It calculates the optimal route for a journey and, when public transport is to be used, it finds out the best options, checks timetables, leads to the nearest station, and ensures taking the right transport vehicle. WeWALK can also automatically describe nearby landmarks on a journey. Moreover, the entire WeWALK app can be controlled through the companion WeWALK smart cane, which also provides obstacle detection through ultrasonic sensing and haptics. The WeWALK system is now capable of collecting motion data from WeWALK's sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, compass) and connected smartphone including walking speed, cane swipes, and places visited, but requires further development to actively track and diagnose mobility patterns through analysis of this data. This is necessary as there are no accurate models for how an older person moves and how their mobility holistically evolves, especially after receiving social care, rehabilitation, or orientation and mobility training. Therefore, healthcare, government, and mobility specialists cannot effectively determine if intervention has had benefit. WeWALK's novel system aims to be implemented and expanded organically through daily usage. However, there will first need to exist rigorous data collection and user testing, followed by data manipulation and classification. Through a human-centred design approach to exhaustively review the indicators of mobility problems in older people and beyond, WeWALK will develop and refine its smartphone and smartcane's ability to recognise these through daily usage. This will ultimately allow older people, or anyone experiencing mobility challenges, to better understand their progression, assisting healthcare and the end-user alike.

There are 12 million elderly people in the UK, many of whom are likely to experience reduced mobility resulting from physical, cognitive, or sensory impairment. Some may even experience several conditions at the same time. To combat this, In 2019/20, the total expenditure on adult social care by local authorities was £23.3 billion. Over half of this was spent on people over 65 years old, the majority of this going to those who need physical support. However, the extent to which each individual is supported in everyday mobility remains unknown and older people continue to experience orientation, mobility, and accessibility challenges. Building on 10+ years of developing various assistive technology for visually impaired people, WeWALK (SME) have invented a sensor-rich smart cane and smartphone application to help people navigate outdoors. The app has both voice and written instructions, as well as full screen reader compatibility and low vision colour filters and text sizes. It calculates the optimal route for a journey and, when public transport is to be used, it finds out the best options, checks timetables, leads to the nearest station, and ensures taking the right transport vehicle. WeWALK can also automatically describe nearby landmarks on a journey. Moreover, the entire WeWALK app can be controlled through the companion WeWALK smart cane, which also provides obstacle detection through ultrasonic sensing and haptics. The WeWALK system is now capable of collecting motion data from WeWALK's sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, compass) and connected smartphone including walking speed, cane swipes, and places visited, but requires further development to actively track and diagnose mobility patterns through analysis of this data. This is necessary as there are no accurate models for how an older person moves and how their mobility holistically evolves, especially after receiving social care, rehabilitation, or orientation and mobility training. Therefore, healthcare, government, and mobility specialists cannot effectively determine if intervention has had benefit. WeWALK's novel system aims to be implemented and expanded organically through daily usage. However, there will first need to exist rigorous data collection and user testing, followed by data manipulation and classification. Through a human-centred design approach to exhaustively review the indicators of mobility problems in older people and beyond, WeWALK will develop and refine its smartphone and smartcane's ability to recognise these through daily usage. This will ultimately allow older people, or anyone experiencing mobility challenges, to better understand their progression, assisting healthcare and the end-user alike.

There are over 2 million older people with sight loss in the UK(AgeUK\_2015); globally, it's estimated to be 253 million(Ackland\_et\_al\_2017). As the population ages, this figure will increase as sight loss disproportionally impacts older people. People with sight loss benefit from the white cane to get around, often in conjunction with smartphone navigation apps. These can include accessibility features such as screen readers, colour filters, and dexterity tools. However, a long cane can only detect obstacles below knee-height and within approximately 1m of the user. Moreover, most smartphone interfaces are not developed with sufficient compatibility for these accessibility features, limiting their usefulness. This makes it particularly challenging for visually impaired individuals(VIIs) to navigate safely in busy urban areas, especially where cars, bicycles, and pedestrians are found in close proximity. To address this challenge, WeWALK have developed a revolutionary "smart" device that screws onto a user's existing cane, upgrading a tool relied on by over 50 million people. Our cane detects obstacles at knee-to-head height and uniquely connects to a user's smartphone to provide audio-based navigation via integration with Google Maps, Moovit, and Microsoft services. Efforts to enhance WeWALK's indoor positioning by the project partners have uncovered that seamless wayfinding in all environments, including outdoors, is possible with situational awareness. This project will address this challenge, including the last-mile problem where individuals fail to locate their final destination or transport route, creating a fully autonomous, comprehensive, safety-critical, and accessible navigation system for older VIIs. Recent assistive smartphone apps have included computer vision for object recognition in addition to environmental mapping and localisation through the concept of simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM). Their underlying principle can be very useful in solving WeWALK's navigation constraints; however, to date, they have not demonstrated adequate system performance(accuracy/reliability/usability) for use in a safety-critical application such as enabling a VII to navigate, avoiding hazards, around an urban environment. We will address the technical/safety challenges that have prevented widespread uptake of computer vision-aided navigation including environmental mapping and overall situational awareness for older and VIIs. We will build on the existing WeWALK architecture with new hardware and software, incorporating spatial sensing and advanced data analytics, providing safety-critical functionality and usability frameworks. This project has the potential to play a vital role in ensuring that the rising numbers of visually impaired people have full access to the urban spaces where we live, work, and play.

There are 12 million elderly people in the UK, many of whom rely on smartphones to aid participation in daily living, such as wayfinding, meeting family and friends, and seeking employment. This is made possible with built-in smartphone accessibility features such as screen readers (VoiceOver, TalkBack), colour filters, and dexterity tools. However, most smartphone interfaces are not developed with sufficient compatibility with these features, limiting their usefulness. This is especially problematic in wayfinding applications due to their complex, visually-driven design language that creates barriers for the elderly user. The WeWALK smartphone application aims to be the most accessible navigation and exploration solution for visually impaired users, providing reliable turn-by-turn walking and public transport navigation. It delivers both visual and auditory instructions, as well as full screen reader compatibility and low vision colour filters and text sizes. With the WeWALK companion smart cane, users can access all these features through voice and simple touch gestures, reducing complexity when on the go. These design principles can be extended to improve the lives of the broader elderly community, but this must follow a user-centric approach with extensive literature review and user testing. This project will first research the needs of elderly users, then setting a framework for the app's future development. New requirements can be defined and a better understanding of the functional impact of smartphone navigation solutions can be attained.

There are 12 million elderly people in the UK, many of whom rely on smartphones to aid participation in daily living, such as wayfinding, meeting family and friends, and seeking employment. This is made possible with built-in smartphone accessibility features such as screen readers (VoiceOver, TalkBack), colour filters, and dexterity tools. However, most smartphone interfaces are not developed with sufficient compatibility with these features, limiting their usefulness. This is especially problematic in wayfinding applications due to their complex, visually-driven design language that creates barriers for the elderly user. The WeWALK smartphone application aims to be the most accessible navigation and exploration solution for visually impaired users, providing reliable turn-by-turn walking and public transport navigation. It delivers both visual and auditory instructions, as well as full screen reader compatibility and low vision colour filters and text sizes. With the WeWALK companion smart cane, users can access all these features through voice and simple touch gestures, reducing complexity when on the go. These design principles can be extended to improve the lives of the broader elderly community, but this must follow a user-centric approach with extensive literature review and user testing. This project will first research the needs of elderly users, then setting a framework for the app's future development. New requirements can be defined and a better understanding of the functional impact of smartphone navigation solutions can be attained.

There are an estimated 250million visually impaired individuals worldwide(Ackland\_et\_al\_2017), many of whom use a cane to help them get around. The most familiar type of cane, known as a "long cane", is used by visually impaired individuals with extremely restricted or no vision to help them find their way and avoid obstacles. However, a long cane can only detect obstacles below knee height and within approximately 1 m of the user. This makes it particularly challenging for visually impaired individuals to navigate safely in busy urban areas, especially where cars, bicycles, and pedestrians are found in close proximity. To address this challenge, WeWALK have developed a revolutionary "smart" device that screws onto a user's existing cane. Our cane detects obstacles(e.g.,trees) at knee-to-head height and uniquely connects to a user's smartphone(Android/Apple) to provide audio-based navigation via integration with Google Maps. However, our existing audio-based navigation relying on GPS cannot be used indoors and does not provide sufficiently high spatial resolution with the level of confidence(integrity) required to help visually impaired individuals independently navigate indoor urban spaces such as transport hubs and shopping centres. Recent indoor navigation systems rely on detecting Bluetooth signals transmitted from "beacons" installed across an indoor space. Beacon signals are detected by smartphones and other Bluetooth-enabled devices and can be used to locate the user, warning them, for example, when they are approaching escalators, ticket barriers, and platforms. Such beacons have been trialled with Transport for London since 2015\. However, to date, they have not demonstrated adequate system performance(accuracy/reliability/usability) for use in a safety-critical application such as enabling a visually impaired user to navigate, avoiding hazards, around a tube station using beacon signals alone. Here, WeWALK in collaboration with Astra-Terra (a London-based SME specialising in intelligent transportation systems), the Centre for Transport Studies at Imperial College London, and the Royal National Institute for the Blind will address the technical/safety challenges that have prevented widespread uptake of beacons for indoor navigation. We will build on the existing installed base of beacons and the available open standard by developing a novel integrity-monitoring layer (providing safety-critical functionality) and usability framework, detecting the beacons signals directly with our smart cane to provide high-accuracy, turn-by-turn indoor audio-based navigation. This project has the potential to play a vital role in ensuring that the rising numbers of visually impaired people have full access to the urban spaces where we live, work, and play.