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O. Hödl, E. Ehrenstrasser, G. Fitzpatrick:
"Augmenting urban mobility through digital information systems";
Vortrag: Walk21 Vienna 2015 Stepping Ahead - XVI International Conference on Walking and Liveable Communities, Wien (eingeladen); 20.10.2015 - 23.10.2015.

Supporting wayfinding of pedestrians and engaging people to increasingly walk in urban environments can be achieved in various ways. We address both issues and present an approach focusing on information and communication technologies (ICT) by enhancing the visibility of walking in an urban environment. In particular, the scientific project that frames our research, is contextualised in the design and development of a guiding and information system for pedestrians in Vienna. The core aspect is re-landscaping a defined district and a popular shopping area with its nearby streets and sideways through tangible and digital information.

Prototypes of this information system, manifested as columns for local orientation, already exist and are further developed. At the moment, they provide pedestrians with various information such as local points of interest, walking distances and public transportation. These columns, so called steles, however, do not have any digital enhancements or interactive features so far. It is our goal to elaborate ICT-based application scenarios and actual digital prototypes to provide walking people with the right information as good as possible. By doing so, we want to raise the walkability awareness in an urban environment and enhance the visibility of walking as an equitable mode of transport.
In practice, we combine innovative approaches of urban mobility and urban ICT solutions with design methods in an user centered process. The digital enhancements for the analogue steles might address issues such as accessibility, inclusive access, usage of relevant open data and support local navigation as well as social, playful and commercial aspects just to mention some achievements we are aiming on.

The methods we used to elaborate and specify the requirements and use quality for such ICT-based guiding systems include qualitative approaches and design research methods which were broadly applied. We did (1) in-situ observations directly on the shopping promenade, (2) interviews with pedestrians, shop owners and chamber of economy representatives about their demands, (3) and collated data on the basis of specially developed personas, scenarios and use-cases.

Our Urban Laboratory will happen directly in the seventh district of Vienna. Participants will have the chance to use and try out our technology probes and prototypes. The Urban Laboratory is an excellent chance for us to get useful feedback for further steps in design, interaction and development. At the same time, all participants will have an individual and unique experience by applying our newly developed technology in a real-world scenario. The Urban Laboratory will be supervised and accompanied by our project team and if necessary, we can provide everyone with the required technology.

http://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_245216.pdf