The project ways4all complete provides people with special needs a wide-ranging solution at traveling in public transport. The result of the project will be a barrier-free application for mobile devices, which combines indoor and outdoor navigation, traffic information, communication with public transport modes and an intuitive use of touch screen devices.

The main target group of ways4all complete are blind and visually impaired people.  As soon as this group of users can travel with the help of the "Ways4all" program, other groups such as tourists, wheelchair users, elderly people and other customers of the public transportation have available a new, practical app for pre-trip and on-trip route planning. The overall system includes several key components: route planning, indoor and outdoor navigation, vehicle communication and intuitive software that combine everything.

With the help of digital maps (like Open Street Map, Google Maps) and online timetable< information (e.g. VOR, ÖBB, WL) the user can plan their trip before leaving or during the trip. Outdoors, a special pedestrian GPS navigation is used for navigation and finding the way. The maps used during navigation, e.g. Open Street Map can be edited by using user’s personal feedback, so it is possible to extend the existing map information (barrier free crossing, preferred routes, etc.). The map information will constantly be updated. After leaving the area in which ​​satellite navigation is possible – entering a (station) building - indoor navigation is available. For the indoor navigation different technics are available, depending on the building structure and user profile. These technics are passive RFID tags (Radio Frequency IDentification), inertial navigation and/or QR codes (Quick Response 2D barcodes). The system requires principally no extra infrastructure and can function autonomously.

To improve the inertial navigation, building plans and additional reference points (RFID-Tags, QR codes or triangulation) can be used. Navigation based on RFID-tags has been evaluated in the previous projects and will be expanded with navigation by QR-codes. QR-codes have the advantage that they can be read by common smart phones cameras and therefore no separate reader is needed.

To complete the information and mobility chain direct communication with public transport mode and public transport systems are available, for example sending an entry request by a visually impaired person or getting real time information from time tables. 

The final application consists of a server and a mobile component. The server can be invokedover the internet so the route can be planned pre-trip or on-trip and useful additional information can be searched for. The planned route and additional information is sent afterwards to the mobile device. The mobile application - based on the open source platform Android - is the interface to the user and provides an intuitive and barrier free service. Text to speech and linkage with realtime and virtual information enables a meaningful use according to the 2-sense principle.

So, Ways4all complete merges the previous projects (ways4all and NAVCOM) into one application.

During this project, a demo application will be implemented and evaluated at the New Vienna Central Station. The project core team of FH-JOANNEUM GmbH, TU-Graz and Salzburg Research is best suited for the realization of this project, based on the experience from many previous projects.