Critical Reflection

My expectation of the Effective Communication module set at the start of the term was to learn more about communicating correctly, clearly, concisely and coherently. A specific area that I wanted to improve is my writing skill, in particular, the ability to organise my thoughts faster and convey my messages precisely and concisely.

I have learnt the "how to" aspects of communication from the module, such as the conventions for citing sources and strategies for paraphrasing texts correctly.  The lesson on summarising strategies has provided me with a framework to organise my thoughts faster. The class activities and assignments have started me on my journey of writing and speaking effectively. What I have to do to continue this journey, with the module coming to an end, is to continue to apply and practise what I have learnt in my writing or speaking assignments of other modules.

One area that I need to pay more attention is the verb tense. It has been a recurring issue pointed out in my other written assignments besides the project report. I am considering options to improve this weakness. They include taking up an English course with specific focus on verb tense, tapping the expertise of the Centre for Communication Skills through the Communication Helpdesk, and practising more and regularly.

The past 13 weeks have been a very rewarding learning experience. The module has helped to lay my foundation and started my journey on writing and speaking effectively, which is an invaluable competency in our globalised world.

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Technical Report (Edits)

Transmittal Letter

Date: 9 November 2017

From: Team Lucent

To: Land Transport Authority

Cc: Brad Blackstone

RE: Enhancement of Commuting Experience for the Visually Impaired

Dear Sir,

I am Claudia Liu, an undergraduate from the sustainable infrastructure engineering programme at Singapore Institute of Technology. I am writing on behalf of my team, Team Lucent, to address an issue regarding the public bus transport system in response to the letter of authorisation. My team found out that visually impaired commuters are facing problems when taking the public bus alone. They do not know which buses are arriving at the bus stop and whether the buses that they are on have reached their destination.

Our research showed that the mentioned issue is increasing pressing given the anticipated increase in visually impaired commuters. We have developed two solutions to enable the visually impaired commuters, when travelling alone, to board the right bus and alight at the right stop every time.

Attached in this e-mail is the report of our research with details of our solutions. My team and I would like to express our gratitude to you for taking your time to read the proposal. Should you require more information, please do not hesitate to contact me at 1700123@sit.singaporetech.edu.sg.

Yours Sincerely,

Claudia Liu

Singapore Institute of Technology

Executive Summary

This report was written in response to the two challenges faced by the visually impaired commuters when using the existing public bus transport system. Specifically, knowing which buses are arriving at the bus stop and if the buses that they are on have reached their destination.

The objective of this report is to propose to the Land Transport Authority the implementation of solutions which use voice-operated technology into our public bus transport system. Voice-operated technology is recommended because the visually impaired commuters heavily depend on their sense of hearing. Hence, it is the most viable form of technology to assist them.

In this report, two solutions have been developed by Team Lucent, to address the above-mentioned challenges. A comparison between both solutions and evaluation of possible setbacks have also been included.

1     Introduction

For the past 13 years, Singapore has implemented several measures at public areas to assist people with disabilities, such as braille in lifts and tactile paving at traffic junctions (Society for Physically Disabled, 2014). Despite efforts made, the visually impaired commuters travelling alone still face difficulties transiting via public buses.

The two main problems faced by the visually impaired are: 1) knowing which buses are arriving at the bus stop and 2) whether the buses that they are on have reached their destination (Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped, 2017). Their predicament was reported by Spykerman (2016), who described a visually impaired undergraduate, who recalled incidents when the bus captain forgot to inform her that she had reached her destination, which caused her to make detours.

Statistics on visual impairment in Singapore for gauging the extent of the problem are limited. An estimate derived using the study results of Wong et al. (2012) and the data from the Census of Population 2010 (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2011) show that about 175,000 adults who are above 40 years old are visually impaired. The number is likely to increase since "more people are at risk of age-related visual impairments as our population ages" (Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, 2017). This is a substantial number.

The expected rise in the visually impaired warrants attention to ensure they are able to board the right public bus and alight at their desired stop all the time when travelling by themselves. It is timely to look into this issue as the Ministry of Transport has planned to make the public transportation system more inclusive (Ministry of Communications and Information, 2017).

3     Purpose Statement

This report proposes to the Land Transport Authority the adoption of “Bus Buddy” mobile application to enhance the commuting experiences of the visually impaired and encourage inclusivity in the design of public transportation system.

4     Proposed Solutions

Two ideas are proposed to improve the commuting experience of the visually impaired when travelling alone: 1) "Bus Buddy" mobile application and 2) the Lucent Bus Stop (LBS). Their features and functions are described below.

4.1   "Bus Buddy" Mobile Application

There are a few local application-based initiatives that help the visually impaired to travel using public bus, namely, Travel Assistant for the Visually Impaired and the Elderly (TrAVEl) (Neo, 2015), ICT-Travel (Salim, 2016) and Travel Assistant for the Visually Impaired (TAVI) (Tote Board, 2017) (Figure 1).

  

Publications on these initiatives did not include how the visually impaired would be assisted when there are multiple buses arriving at the bus stop and when they are alone (Figure 2). These initiatives are unlikely to address this aspect since their aim is to enable the visually impaired to travel independently. The proposed "Bus Buddy" solution aims to bridge this gap, thereby enabling the visually impaired to board the right bus and alight at their desired stop every time.

The "Bus Buddy" mobile application consists of two components:

a.             "Bus Buddy” is a voice-operated bus service advisory mobile application that interacts with the visually-impaired user and processes his/her requests. It tracks and correlates the user's location against a map complete with information on bus stops and landmarks. It also taps into the Bus Information System (BIS) for real-time bus status.

b.             A transceiver-cum-display unit on each bus that transmits bus information (e.g. location) and receives alerts notifying the bus captain of visually impaired commuters at the next bus stop.

A simplified conceptual user - “Bus Buddy” interaction process is shown in Figure 3.

4.2        Lucent Bus Stop

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has piloted a smart bus stop initiative where commuters can enjoy free Wi-Fi or even download an e-Book while waiting for their bus to arrive (Saiidi, 2017). While these initiatives are mainly for the general public, this initiative can be further expanded to include additional features to aid the visually impaired in their commuting experience.

The Lucent Bus Stop (LBS) is a revised version of the smart bus stop initiative. The LBS includes an interactive panel located in the bus shelter (see Appendix A) and a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display screen installed at the bus stop pole (see Appendix B). The interactive panel consists of a touch screen Liquid Crystal Device (LCD) display, an audio speaker and a real-time bus location system via Global Positioning System (GPS). The lower part of the interactive panel is a list of bus services available at the specific bus stop in braille.

Visually impaired using the interactive panel would begin by pressing the ‘push-to-talk’ button. The interactive panel will prompt the user to input their destination vocally (Figure 4). Upon receiving the user’s input, the interactive panel will respond with the bus service that the user should take to get to his/her destination.

When the panel prompts for a confirmation, the user would tap his/her SG enabled concession card on the card reader to confirm his/her selected choice (Figure 5).

Upon confirmation, the audio speaker will announce the selected bus service and the time taken to arrive at the bus stop. Concurrently, the LED display will indicate the flagged down bus number, together with a visually handicapped symbol (Figure 6), informing the bus captain that a visually impaired would be boarding the bus. This allows the bus captain to render necessary assistance.

When the flagged down bus arrives at the bus stop, the audio speaker will announce the bus number, notifying the visually impaired to board the bus (Figure 7). Once the bus left the bus bay, the system will be updated.

5     Evaluation

Touchscreen technology is growing rapidly and widely accepted as part of everyone lives. Solutions to the problem have been thought through thoroughly by the team and are feasible. There may still be some minor challenges to our solutions, however, with careful planning, these challenges can be mitigated.

5.1   Return on Investment

There could be a concern to whether the number of visually impaired commuters warrant the investment. This concern has been mitigated under the proposed progressive implementation approach starting with routes and bus services that have more visually impaired commuters. The mobile application could be extended to include other users such as tourists and those who are unfamiliar with the bus services and routes to achieve greater usability.

5.2   User Acceptance

5.2.1 “Bus Buddy” Mobile Application

Users of "Bus Buddy" are required to own a smart phone with an up-to-date operating system to ensure that the application works smoothly. More importantly, they have to bear the data usage cost. These cost-related concerns can be resolved by expanding the scope of the current "public transport concession scheme for persons with disabilities" to include subsidy for such expenses (Ministry of Social and Family Development, n. d.).

5.2.2 Lucent Bus Stop

Since the interactive panel is available for all to use, visually impaired commuters may need to wait for their turn to use it. This issue can be managed through the phased implementation to gauge the usage demand and cost-effective alternatives could be considered if needed.

5.3   Longer Travel Time

There may be concerns with the additional time required in travelling due to the requirement of the bus captain to aid the visually impaired on boarding and alighting of the bus. This issue is similar to wheelchair commuters. This issue, however, is generally accepted as a social norm by majority and mitigated by the benefits that the visually impaired commuters would gain.

6     Methodology

The team used both primary and secondary research methods for our study. The team searched the internet for relevant information and asked SAVH specific questions related to this study.

6.1   Secondary Research

Online research on the visually impaired was conducted to learn about their challenges (Collins, 2013, and Spykerman, 2016), the extent of the problem (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2011, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, 2017, and Wong et al., 2012), the local and foreign initiatives launched to help them (Bennett, 2014, Metro, 2016, Neo, 2015, Salic, 2017, Superala, 2014, and Tote Board, 2017) and their familiarity with the technologies used - mobile and touchscreen technologies (Parderio, 2017 and Roa, 2014). This study allows the problem statement and the strategies of possible solutions for this assignment to be determined.

6.2   Primary Research

The team approached SAVH to gain deeper insights into the challenges faced by visually impaired commuters and their views on the strategies of our intended solutions through a questionnaire administered via email (see Appendix C). The team brainstormed the responses provided (see Appendix D) and the probable scenarios which refined the problem statement and enhanced the two solutions.

7     Conclusion

Visually impaired commuters who are travelling by themselves are still facing difficulties with boarding the right bus and alighting at the right stop despite efforts to integrate people with disabilities into the society. This problem will become more pressing given the anticipated increase in visually impaired persons. The proposed solutions, "Bus Buddy" mobile application and LBS, aim to solve this problem, thereby enhancing their commuting experience. It is timely to implement this improvement given the commitment of the Ministry of Transport to make the public transportation system a much better experience for all which would also contribute to making Singapore a more inclusive society.

8     References

Bennett, M. (2014, February 14). A new app aims to assist blind people navigate Perth's public transport network. ABC. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-14/new-app-helps-blind-to-navigate-public-transport-feature/5258776

Collins, G. (2013, July, 11). First person: Challenge faced by blind people using public transport. getreading. Retrieved from http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/first-person-challenge-faced-blind-5068294

Department of Statistics Singapore. (2011, January). Census of Population 2010 Statistical Release 1: Demographics Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion. Retrieved from http://www.singstat.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/publications/publications_and_papers/cop2010/census_2010_release1/cop2010sr1.pdf

Kah-Guan, A. E. & Chee-Chew, Y. (2007, October). Prevention of Blindness in Singapore: No Room for Complacency. Proceeding of the Eye 3rd Research Day Vol. 36 (Suppl) No. 10. Retrieved from http://www.annals.edu.sg/PDF/36VolNo10SupplOct2007/V36N10(S1)pS1.pdf

Metro. (2016, September 27). School launches navigational app for bus riders with visual impairments. Metro. Retrieved from http://www.metro-magazine.com/accessibility/news/715682/school-launches-navigational-app-for-bus-riders-with-visual-impairments

Ministry of Communications and Information. (2017, March 8). Towards a smarter, greener, and more inclusive public transport system. Retrieved from https://www.gov.sg/microsites/budget2017/press-room/news/content/towards-a-smarter-greener-and-more-inclusive-public-transport-system

Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. (2017, October). Working together towards Blindness Prevention. Speech by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth at the Rotary "Seeing Eye to Eye" International Seminar 2017. Retrieved from https://www.mccy.gov.sg/en/news/speeches/2017/Oct/Working%20together%20towards%20Blindness%20Prevention.aspx

Ministry of Social and Family Development. (n. d.). Public transport concession scheme for persons with disabilities. Retrieved from https://www.msf.gov.sg/assistance/Pages/Public-Transport-Concession-for-Persons-with-Disabilities.aspx

Neo, I. (2015, March 4). New bus app for visually impaired and elderly commuters. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/new-bus-app-for-visually-impaired-and-elderly-commuters

Parderio, C. (2017, Feb 22). Here's the brilliant way blind people use touchscreen devices like smartphones. Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/how-blind-people-use-smartphones-2017-2/?IR=T

Rao, V. (2014, February 7). How do blind users use smartphones? Assistive Technology Blog. Retrieved from http://assistivetechnologyblog.com/2014/02/how-do-blind-users-use-smartphones.html

Saiidi, U. (2017, March 7). We may have found the world's most hi-tech bus stop. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/07/singapore-smart-nation-this-bus-stop-is-transforming-the-daily-commute.html

Salim, Z. (2016, March 18). SMU-SIS students develop mobile for visually-impaired in Singapore. SIS-Asia. Retrieved from https://sis.smu.edu.sg/sites/sis.smu.edu.sg/files/%5Bcurrent-domain%3Amachine_name%5D/news_room/MISAsia_20160318_1.pdf

Society for Physically Disabled, (2014, March 14). Barriers To Integrating People With Disabilities In Mainstream Society. Retrieved from

http://www.spd.org.sg/updates/detail/barriers-to-integrating-people-with-disabilities-in-mainstream-society-72.html

Supeala, D. (2015, June 5). World premier: large scale ibeacons network guides visually impaired people to use the public transportation service. Onyx Beacon. Retrieved from https://www.onyxbeacon.com/world-premiere-large-scale-ibeacons-network-guides-visually-impaired-people-to-use-the-public-transportation-service/

Sypkerman, K. (2016, Nov 19). For Singapore's visually-impaired, public transport is a daily challenge. Channel News Asia. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/for-singapore-s-visually-impaired-public-transport-is-a-daily-ch-7712658

The Tote Board. (2017, July 25). Navigation app for the visually impaired. Retrieved from http://www.toteboard.gov.sg/news-events/latest-news/navigation-app-for-the-visually-impaired

Wong, T. Y., Zheng, Y., Wong, W. L., Lamoureux, E. L., Wang, J. J., Mitchell, P., Cheung, N., Aung, T., Saw, S. M. & Cheng, C. Y. (2012, March). The Prevalence and Causes of Visual Impairment and Blindness in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population: The Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Disease (SEED) Study. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, March 2012, Vol. 53, 5640. Retrieved from http://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2359339

Analytical Reflection

I presented on the proposed "Bus Buddy" mobile application for my team's project "Enhancement of Commuting Experience for the Visually Impaired". Three teams, namely A-Team, Claustrophobic and Eldervists, gave their views on my presentation.

The teams complimented my presentation. A-Team commented that the concept was explained clearly while Claustrophobic liked the good content control and flow, especially the use of flow chart to explain the user-"Bus Buddy" interaction process.

The teams also identified my areas for improvement. My tone and choice of words are the two areas identified.

Claustrophobic commented that "my speaking speed was good but requires more volume and tone variation". I researched on how I can improve my speaking. Schwertly (2014) citing a psychological study, reports that varying one's voice is important to keep the listeners engaged. WikiHow (n.d.) stated that "emphasizing important words in a sentence with a higher pitch reassures listeners". For future presentations, I will identify the key words or phrases and emphasize them with a higher pitch. I will also need to practise more in order to improve on this weakness.

Eldervists correctly pointed out that I said 'cause', when it should have been 'because' during the question and answer segment. This problem arises from my habit of using the shortened form of the intended word, which others would still understand my message when communicating through platforms such as Whatsapp. I need to change this habit as it is affecting my oral presentation. I will refrain from using such shortened forms.

The peer review and analytical reflection have enabled me to learn more about my strengths and weaknesses in oral presentation. The insight has allowed me to find ways to better prepare for the delivery of more engaging and professional presentations.

References

Schwertly, S. (2014, July 9). Your guide to developing a stronger speaking voice. Ethos 3. Retrieved from https://www.ethos3.com/2014/07/your-guide-to-developing-a-stronger-speaking-voice/

wikiHow. (n.d.). How to develop a friendly tone of voice. wikiHow. Retrieved from https://www.wikihow.com/Develop-a-Friendly-Tone-of-Voice

Reader Response (Edited)

Use of Cladding in Buildings Here Have Grown in Recent Times: Reader Response

In the article “Use of Cladding in Buildings Here Have Grown in Recent Times”, Mokhtar (2017) reports the increasing use of cladding in Singapore and its benefits and risks. Cladding, a layer of panels added to the facade of buildings, is gaining popularity as it can cut energy use, improve building appearance or provide shade. The use of cladding, however, is being scrutinized after the fatal Grenfell Tower fire tragedy. The ventilation gaps between the cladding and the building’s walls caused fire to spread upwards rapidly, drawing fresh air from the bottom of the facade and fuelling the fire. In Singapore, use of cladding is regulated. For example, the article states that cladding material must not allow fire to spread along its surface when ignited. This is known as the Class '0' standard. It also reports that besides meeting statutory regulations, an owner has included fire stops to prevent fire spread and regular certification of fire protection systems for his buildings. Cladding is useful, but its associated risks need to be mitigated. Cladding used must meet applicable safety standards and certified practices to minimize fire risk.

It is important to use cladding that complies with fire safety requirements. The Building Research Establishment, on behalf of the British government, conducted a fire safety test using a replica of the Grenfell Tower cladding system. Although vertical and horizontal fire stops were included, the cladding system comprising "aluminium panels with a combustible polyethylene plastic core and combustible PIR plastic foam insulation" still burnt (Mairs, 2017). The test proved that the cladding at Grenfell did not meet regulatory guidelines and would not have been used if it had been tested.

Singapore also has cladding that does not meet standards. On 4 May 2017, a life was lost in a fire confined mainly to the facade of an industrial building (Baker, 2017). Subsequently, Minister for Home Affairs, Mr K. Shanmugam, revealed that, as of 8 September 2017, cladding of 15 buildings did not meet the Class '0' standard (Ministry of Home Affairs, 2017). Preliminary investigations pointed to the sole supplier of the panels used. Two models of panels were mixed together during storage; one model met the Class '0' standard while the other did not. Mr K. Shanmugam said that the model that did not meet standard "may have, at times, been supplied for use on external walls". He added that panels that supposedly met the standard were found to be "not of uniform quality; some met the standard, but others did not". He explained that sampling method was used as it was not possible to subject all panels to the destructive test. Ong (2017), citing Singapore Civil Defence Force, reports that cladding is required to be tested yearly.

Our current fire safety practices need to and can be improved to better ensure cladding used meet standards. Firstly, besides ensuring cladding meet standards, the certification process has to ensure different cladding models can be identified easily with proper handling procedures implemented to prevent mix up. Secondly, sampling tests need to be stricter with tests conducted by production batch instead of yearly to better ensure the quality of cladding. Lastly, on-site inspections can be more thorough to lower the risk of incorrect cladding being installed. With all these changes, the quality of cladding used is better ensured.

The dire consequences of using sub-standard cladding are evident from the two tragedies. The UK fire showed the inadequacy of relying solely on the stipulation of stringent standards; preventative measures can also do little when sub-standard cladding is used. Quality assurance of cladding is crucial to minimize fire risk.

References

Baker, J. A. (2017, May 4). 54-year-old woman dies from injuries in Jurong East fire. Channel News Asia. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/54-year-old-woman-dies-from-injuries-in-jurong-east-fire-8817410

Mairs, J. (2017, July 28). Fire safety test shows Grenfell Tower's cladding system was "an absolute failure". Retrieved from https://www.dezeen.com/2017/07/28/grenfell-tower-aluminium-cosposite-cladding-amc-passes-bre-fire-safety-test-news/

Mokhtar, F. (2017, June 17). Use of cladding in buildings here have grown in recent times. Today Online. Retrieved from

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/use-cladding-buildings-here-have-grown-recent-times-experts

Ng, J. S. (2017, September 5). Outer cladding of 24 buildings fails checks. The Straits Times. Retrieved from

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/outer-cladding-of-24-buildings-fails-checks

Ong, J. (2017, June 28). Guarding against a Grenfell-like disaster in Singapore. Channel News Asia. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/guarding-against-a-grenfell-like-disaster-in-singapore-8985482

Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs. (2017, 11 September). Oral reply to parliamentary questions on cladding by Mr K. Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law. Retrieved from

https://www.mha.gov.sg/Newsroom/in-parliament/oral-replies-to-pqs/Pages/Oral-Reply-to-Parliamentary-Questions-on-Cladding.aspx

Self-Introduction (Edited)

To: Professor Brad Blackstone

Senior Lecturer

Centre for Communication Skills

Singapore Institute of Technology @ Dover

10 Dover Drive

Singapore 138683

Date: 10 September 2017

Subject: Self-Introduction

Dear Professor Blackstone,

I am Jasson Juay Wei Sheng, a student of your Effective Communication (Group 5) class. I am writing to introduce myself. I graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in environmental and water technology in 2015. The course has increased my awareness on the impact of our actions on the environment and how it would affect us. I wanted to strengthen my foundation in built environment and green technology so as to better pursue my goal of contributing towards building a more liveable and sustainable environment.

I reflected on my communication skills and I believe I am a good listener. During discussions in class, I do not interrupt when someone is speaking. I also keep an open mind and try to understand the speaker's perspectives. I will ask questions if I do not understand what has been said.

One aspect of my communication skills that I want to improve is my writing skill.  I usually take a long time to organise my thoughts and find the right words to convey my messages precisely and concisely. I tend to edit my written assignments many times to ensure the paragraphs are coherent and the intended messages are conveyed as clearly as possible and within the given word limits.

I hope the effective communication module would help me to speak and write better. They are essential skills especially when I join the workforce.  I am already seeing results. The peer feedback approach is an example. It enables me to learn from the mistakes I made and those made by my peers; learning more from a single assignment in the process. I looked forward to learning more about communicating correctly, clearly, concisely and coherently from this module.

Best regards,

Jasson Juay

SIE 2016 (Group 5)

Edited on 11 September

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Edited on 26 November

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Post Technical Report, Draft #1

1 Introduction/background information

Singapore has implemented many measures to help people with disabilities integrate into the community in the last 13 years (Society for Physically Disabled, 2014). Visually impaired commuters travelling alone, however, are still having difficulties using public buses.

The two main problems faced by the visually impaired are knowing which buses are arriving at the bus stop and whether the buses that they are on have reached their destination (Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped, 2017). Their predicament was reported by Spykerman (2016) - a visually impaired undergraduate had to alight many stops after her destination when the bus captain had forgotten to inform her and she had to wait for someone to assist her to go to the bus stop across the road to get to her destination.

Statistics on visual impairment in Singapore for gauging the extent of the problem is limited. An estimate derived using the study results of Wong et al. (2012) and the data from the Census of Population 2010 (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2011) showed that about 175,000 adults who are above 40 years old are visually impaired. This indicative number excludes children and adults below 40 years old. The number is likely to increase since "more people are at risk of age-related visual impairments as our population ages" (Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, 2017).

The anticipated rise in visually impaired persons warrants attention to ensure they are able to board the right public bus and alight at the right stop every time and all the time when travelling by themselves.

2 Problem statement

Visually impaired commuters travelling alone often face challenges with boarding the right bus and alighting at their desired stop. Technology such as mobile phone applications and voice-operated technology can be implemented to alleviate the problem.

3 Purpose statement

This report proposes ideas to the Land Transport Authority with the aim to enhance the commute experiences of the visually impaired and encourage inclusivity in the design of public transportation system.

4 Proposed Solutions

To enhance the independent travelling of visual impaired commuters, our team has proposed two solutions, smart bus stop and mobile phone application. With smart technologies, visually impaired commuters are able to commute easily. Features and functions of these smart technologies will be discussed below.

4.1 Use of mobile application

4.1.1 Features and functions

Boarding

1.   Visually impaired at bus stop says his destination to the voice-based apps (different common languages and dialects).

2.   The apps taps on the bus information from the bus-stop to generate the recommended bus service based on fastest, cheapest and most direct which the visually impaired would choose.

3.   The visually impaired would be alerted by the apps through voice (and even vibration if selected) when the desired bus is approaching.

4.   The bus captain will also be alerted of a visually impaired passenger at the next stop through his dashboard.

5.   The bus captain would alight at the bus stop to assist the visually impaired with boarding if there no one else to assist the latter.

Alighting

1.   Both the visually impaired and the bus captain would be alerted again (through their respective channels) when the bus is reaching the desired stop based on the computation by the apps using location positioning technology.

2.   The bus captain would render assistance again as needed.

4.2 Smart bus stop

4.2.1 Features and functions

The smart features of bus stop include user interactive panel located in the bus shelter (see appendix A) and LED display screen installed on the bus stop pole (see appendix B). The interactive panel is a touchscreen LCD display monitor, which have both bus flagging and journey planner capabilities. The LED display screen informs the bus captain of the flag down bus that a visually impaired commuter is ready to board the bus.

For bus flagging function, user will be able to make selection of the bus services through tapping of the icon on the interactive panel. Once selection has been made, the interactive panel will prompt for a confirmation where the user would then tap the SG Enabled concession card on the card reader to confirm their choice.

Upon confirmation of the authenticity of visually impaired commuter, the audio speaker will sound off the selected bus service and the timing that the bus would take to arrive at the bus stop. Concurrently, the system will send the user’s selected choice to the LED display screen, where the bus number, together with an icon of visually handicapped person, will be flashed. This would inform the bus captain of the selected bus service to know that a visually impaired commuter would be boarding the bus, allowing him/her to render any assistance, if required.

Once the selected bus service arrives at the bus stop, the audio speaker will sound off the bus service number loud and clear that it has reached, informing the visually impaired commuter to get ready to board the bus i.e. “Bus 858 arrived, board the bus now.” Once the bus left the bus bay, the LED display will be updated again.

The lower part of the smart board shows the bus services information in braille, allowing the visually impaired commuters to find out the bus services available at the bus stop.

For journey planner function, the user is able to plan their journey to their destination via the shortest travelling time. The user first selects the journey planner application. When the interactive panel prompt for their destination, a button is pressed on the voice recognition microphone and the user will speak the destination into the system. The planner would then display and tell the user the shortest travelling route.