ROME – The car has always been synonymous with freedom of movement, but it is a right that is not easily accessible to all road users. For example, people with disabilities, despite being able to drive, often have difficulty getting around by car or organizing a trip because they do not know if they will find accessible services along the road. To promote inclusive mobility, the MIDEA project (Inclusive Digital Equal Autonomous Mobility) was born, with the aim of creating a sort of digital road map with updated and timely information on all the places that have accessible, usable or dedicated services disabled.
All this information will be accessible through a special App, still under development, which will contain the updated data of the service stations and refreshment points (bars and restaurants) provided by road and motorway operators and of accommodation and tourist activities. Basically, when it becomes operational, the MIDEA project, promoted by PIARC Italia (national branch of the World Road Association) in collaboration with ADAM Accessibility, (non-profit association active in the protection of the rights of people with disabilities) and FISH (Italian Federation for overcoming the handicap), will allow users with disabilities to plan an itinerary by identifying a route where refreshment, refueling, hygiene, parking or communication services are guaranteed for all the different forms of disability.
The App – reads the PIARC website – can also be incorporated into other mobility platforms to integrate information relating to traffic or road conditions. The data will be uploaded by the information providers directly to a network platform that will automatically flow into the MIDEA system, which will be available to all users both directly through access to the App and through the host platforms. MIDEA will also be implemented by the data provided by users along the travel route, which will be able to report situations detected directly by enriching or correcting the data on the platform, as well as reporting critical issues encountered. In addition, the MIDEA app will be supported by all data providers with a periodic contribution for the maintenance and development of the platform. And it will be able to host advertising spaces for all commercial operators who will provide data on their facilities, as well as for manufacturers of aids and appliances for people with disabilities.
In the first experimentation phase of the app – informs PIARC – a survey was launched to profile the user group to which the project is addressed. The survey will collect some data on the specific condition of disability and on the perception of automatic driver assistance systems, personal experiences and suggestions. The results of the survey elaborated and optimized will then be shared with all operators in the sector to refine, improve and innovate the current systems and plants, including infrastructures. The App will be offered as an integral part to all the mobility platforms of road operators, such as Anas, motorway operators and local authorities, and to urban navigation platforms. To manage its function, the MIDEA app will use digital networks and connections both in a cloud system and in vehicle to vehicle communications (V2V) and from vehicle to infrastructure and other equipment (V2I and V2X) and the so-called internet of things (IOT).
It will also make use of all the automatic driving assistance systems, both in the vehicle and on the road, in a partial to total automation process. PIARC underlines that the so-called ADAS (Automatic Driver Assistance Systems), and in the near future the autonomous vehicle, will assume an ever greater role in the world of transport and will allow disabled people to compensate for all the present difficulties. A vehicle connected to the road and autonomous, in fact, can provide information more quickly and define its nature based on the type of needs of the person on board the vehicle. For example, the vehicle itself, connected in real time with the road or service station manager, will read the signs indicating an accessible refreshment point. The information will be communicated on board the vehicle and it will be possible to make the most appropriate choice in good time. In short, the mobility of the future will be increasingly fair and inclusive.