New iPhone App “Wheelmap” Shows Wheelchair Access Around the World
posted on Mar 28 by Snow in the Advocacy, Disability News, Technology, Wheelchair Accessibility, Wheelchair Technology category
When wheelchair user Raul Krauthausen wanted to have a little more choice in his life, he decided to develop an iPhone app to help him get around better. Tired of relying on services for the disabled in his native Germany, Krauthausen developed Wheelmap, a new iPhone app that shows wheelchair access around the world. With Wheelmap, a person who uses a wheelchair won’t be stopped by accessibility issues because the app will tell them if they can get into the building and move around freely.
Wheelmap creator, Raul Krauthausen, wanted to give wheelchair users more autonomy when he developed the app. “I want to remain flexible and not be dependent on when a driving service has time to pick me up,” Krauthausen told Mary Lane of the Associated Press.
The app tags different locations on an open-source map with red, yellow or green to indicate the level of wheelchair access each location provides. Locations tagged red have no wheelchair access; yellow locations have partial wheelchair access, and green locations are totally accessible to individuals who use wheelchairs. Locations without a wheelchair access rating are gray. The easy to use application also allows users to search for locations much like other map applications for the iPhone.
The Wheelmap iPhone app is also linked to the Wheelmap website, where users from around the world can contribute to developing the app by rating locations for wheelchair accessibility. According to an AP news article, the website “has 300 new user-ratings daily for a total of info on 30,000 locations.” This interactive feature allows the app to grow and be more functional to individuals who use wheelchairs. The app is being used worldwide, and it’s quickly gaining recognition in the United States.
Tagging new places on Wheelmap can also encourage those who use wheelchairs to explore their cities and connect with others. A beta tester of the app and wheelchair user Ingo Stoecker also thinks that Wheelmap might help individuals with physical disabilities explore their environments. “Most or many wheelchair users are rather introverted—they’d rather not go out,” said Stoecker. “I think if they knew of such an app, they would maybe get out more.”
Visit the English version of the app at http://en.wheelmap.org/
Sources:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9LHP4A01&show_article=1
http://www.cultofmac.com/wheelchair-access-theres-an-iphone-app-for-that/83189
http://sci-news-blog.blogspot.com/2011/02/wheelchair-access-theres-app-for-that.html
2 Comments
prince vlad, posted this comment on Apr 24th, 2011
Is there an app like this / a version of this app , that is compatible with a blackberry ?
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powerchair, posted this comment on Apr 16th, 2011
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