Data Model for IndoorGML Extension to Support Indoor Navigation of People with Mobility Disabilities

Abstract

The increasing complexity of modern buildings has challenged the mobility of people with disabilities (PWD) in the indoor environment. To help overcome this problem, this paper proposes a data model that can be easily applied to indoor spatial information services for people with disabilities. In the proposed model, features are defined based on relevant regulations that stipulate significant mobility factors for people with disabilities. To validate the model’s capability to describe the indoor spaces in terms that are relevant to people with mobility disabilities, the model was used to generate data in a path planning application, considering two different cases in a shopping mall. The application confirmed that routes for people with mobility disabilities are significantly different from those of ordinary pedestrians, in a way that reflects features and attributes defined in the proposed data model. The latter can be inserted as an IndoorGML extension, and is thus expected to facilitate relevant data generation for the design of various services for people with disabilities.