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VIDBE-Q Volume 63 Issue 4
Master's student, Eric conducted his research at the Human Engineering Research
Laboratories (HERL) at Bakery Square in Pittsburgh. At HERL, Eric worked with Jon
Duvall and Jon Pearlman to investigate how sidewalks affect people with disabilities,
especially wheelchair users. Their research focused on developing a standard for
sidewalk roughness (https://astm.org/Standards/E3028.htm). Both Jon Duvall and Jon
Pearlman are co-founders of pathVu and have personal ties to disability as well. Jon
Duvall sustained a spinal cord injury and uses a power wheelchair, and Jon Pearlman's
father uses a wheelchair. These personal relationships are what drive this pathVu team
every day to develop technology to help people with disabilities.
Background
People with disabilities face significant challenges to participate fully in their
communities, often limiting their travel to familiar places. Among wheelchair users
surveyed in the U.S., the wheelchair and the physical environment were the most
significant factors limiting community participation. In this study, 47% of the wheelchair
users stated that the physical environment limited their access to the community, which
was just slightly less than the 53% who indicated the wheelchair limited their
participation. Furthermore, one in three older adults fall each year, the majority of which
occur outdoors, costing $34 million in direct medical costs. Tripping and falling is the
leading cause of traumatic brain injury. The condition of sidewalks and pathways affect
all pedestrians, but people with disabilities, older adults, and injured veterans are
especially affected by them.
Reducing the barriers in the physical environment is extremely challenging
because individual property owners are often responsible for making their sidewalks
