Navigating elevators as a visually impaired individual often presents unique challenges and safety concerns. Unfortunately, incidents involving elevator falls have resulted in tragic consequences for our community.
In this blog post, I aim to raise awareness about the safety risks faced by visually impaired individuals when using elevators and explore potential solutions to enhance their safety.
Addressing the Challenges:
1. Identifying Elevator Presence:
• Implementing a sensor or device at the ground floor to indicate whether the elevator is present or not.
• This would prevent individuals from pulling open the door when the elevator is absent, potentially damaging the elevator mechanism.
2. Floor Detection and Status Awareness:
• Installing a sensor to identify the current floor of the elevator.
• This would enable visually impaired individuals to confirm they are at the correct level before exiting.
• Additionally, connecting the sensor to an audio system could announce the current floor.
3. Tactile or Audible Door-Opening Confirmation:
• Upon opening the elevator doors, providing a tactile or audible signal to confirm the elevator's presence.
• This would prevent individuals from stepping into an empty elevator shaft.
4. Floor-Level Elevator Status Indication:
• Installing a tactile or audible indicator at each floor level to inform individuals whether the elevator is stopped at that level.
• This would prevent individuals from waiting for the elevator on the wrong floor.
A Call for Collaboration:
I believe that these ideas have the potential to significantly improve elevator safety for visually impaired individuals.
I encourage engineers, designers, and innovators to consider these suggestions and develop practical solutions to address the safety concerns of our community.
Invitation to Share:
I would greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts and ideas on enhancing elevator safety for the visually impaired. Please share your contributions in the comments section below.
Conclusion:
Together, we can work towards creating a more inclusive and safer environment for all, ensuring that elevators serve as accessible and secure means of transportation for everyone.
Additional Considerations:
• Exploring voice recognition technology to allow individuals to control elevator functions using voice commands.
• Implementing a system that alerts nearby individuals if an emergency situation arises within the elevator, such as a person trapped or an unexpected stop.
• Conducting regular safety audits and maintenance checks to ensure elevators are in optimal working condition.
By fostering collaboration and innovation, we can make significant strides in enhancing elevator safety for the visually impaired community.
By Ramy, 27 May, 2024
Forum
Assistive Technology
Comments
Which country are you in?
Hi curious because certainly in the UK and more than likely North America and probably most of the worldmost of these things are in place. Also, it is impossible to pull doors open anyway.
Egypt
aHere, most elevators on big malls and so on are prepared with accessibility, however in some buildings, this is not the case, like my building.
also, am asking if there are any apps that makes the elevator more accessible?
You could try seeing AI.
It might help you read floor numbers but i'm not completely sure.
Also, BeMyEyes would probably help you a bit more as you could call a volunteer and ask if the door is open.
See Elevator World
You can connect with people in the elevator industry through Elevator World magazine. Yes, there is a magazine just for elevators (and escalators).
https://elevatorworld.com/news/
first time to know this
Thanks so much for these information, first time to know.
WIll sure be a member there.
Good post but
The thought is nice, the idea is nice, but even elevators in 3rd world countries have safety features, where you can't really open the door unless the lift is standing at that floor. The buttons have tactile indecations, braille at times, and they might also come with audible announcements to help you know what floor has arrived.
This seems like a specific elevator issue, may be it was built in the old days, and the building management is not willing to replace it. In that case, lift magazeens and people like us would strait up point out the things which I pointed above. So, this is building management's responcibility, to ensure safety of occupents while they are using the lift.
Using an app to navigate lift/elevators is far clunky. May be you've got bag and cane in hands, may be the other hand is busy finding the lift call button. Phone is not a suitable option while on the move.
I advise you not to use AI…
I advise you not to use AI to write your posts, I am aware you may use it for proofreading, even so, instruct it not to alter your tone, it is really jarring and reads worse than a corporate manual.
not my first language
Thanks so much for your advice,
English is not my 1st language, so, this is why i use AI for proof reading etc,
sometimes it changes the tone.
SO sorry for that.
see me eye
do not think that this is a practical solution for using phone while moving indoor.
thanks so much for your advice.
Proofreading prompt
Even so, instructed not to change grammar/word choice.
Here is a ready prompt.
You are to act as a proofreader, check for any grammar or spelling mistakes within this passage, and fix them. Do not change my tone or word choice unless necessary, though you may suggest corrections. This is the passage.
Never Thought of Elevator Safety Much But...
I guess I've thought a bit about it, but for whatever reason this has seldom if ever crossed my mind. That said, I've been in elevators with audible announcements but mostly Braille. My apartment complex is very old and does not have an elevator, but I will have to try and find an elevator sometime when I'm by myself again. The complex in which I live is rather small, and I don't even think a newbie would get very lost here. I sort of did, but I moved in several years prior to the renovation. I can remember a time when my brother and I would ride the elevator in at least one hotel. He and I are both blind. We were vacationing somewhere with our family--I think Florida--and curiosity got the best of us as it often did. So we decided to take the elevator from floor to floor, randomly exploring as we went. That elevator was very safe, and the excursion was actually quite fun. This was shortly after the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law.
The world's first
Just a bit of history. I rode an elevator in Los Angeles in the 1970's, and was surprised to learn it was the world's first talking elevator. I still have trouble not laughing. It was installed in the Braille Institute, in a two story building.
Raised numbers
I think I posted this in a similar thread, but most modern elevators will have a raised number on the inside of the "door frame" (for lack of a better description) for each floor. You can reach out to the outside frame and just feel the number there.
HTH.