A Study on Tactile Walking Surface
Indication at StaircasesHisato OHNO 1), Ayako SUZUKI 1), Daisuke
SUZUKI 1)
Toru TAKAHASHI 2), Daisuke SAWADA 2)
Masaki TAUCHI 3), Tetsuo AKIYAMA 4)
TRANSED 2012 New Delhi
1) Railway Technical Research Institute, Tokyo, JAPAN2) ECOMO Foundation, Tokyo, JAPAN3) Okayama Prefectural University, Okayama, JAPAN4) Hokusei Gakuen University, Hokkaido, JAPAN
TWSIs of attention pattern should be
installed at staircases, where the risk of
falling by the
visually impaired persons is highly
anticipated.
TWSIs(tactile walking surface indicators) of attention (warning) and guiding pattern have been proved useful in the past decades in providing travel information for visually impaired persons.
BACKGROUND
In Japan, there are two guidelines for installation of attention TWSIs at staircases. Some inconsistency between them can be seen as is shown below.
1. One guideline requires installation of TWSIs both at the top and bottom of staircases, but the other requires only at the top. (Necessity)
2. Whereas these guideline recommend put the setback of about 30 cm, neither of them specifies the depth of TWSIs. (size of setback and depth of TWSIs)
3. Neither mentions installation of TWSIs on intermediate landings of staircases (Necessity)
Questions about Installation of Attention TWSIs at Staircase
To answer to the questions about installation of TWSIs at staircases, we conducted two experiments.
EXPERIMENT 1To investigate the needs for the installation of attention TWSIs at the top and bottom of staircases and the dimensions of TWSIs to be installed. EXPERIMENT 2To investigate the needs for the installation of attention as well as guiding TWSIs at the intermediate landing of staircases
PURPOSES
EXPERIMENT 1Needs for TWSIs and Optimal
layout of TWSIs at the top and bottom of
staircases
OBJECTIVES of Experiment 1
2: Should TWSI be installed at the
bottom of staircases?
1: What is the optimal layout,
depth and setback, of TWSIs at
staircases?
METHOSSubjects
• TWSIs of attention pattern to be compliant to JIS T 9251 (2001) and ISO 23599 (2012) were used.
• 38 blind & 3 low vision• Height: 160.6 ± 10.0 cm• Shoe size: 24.7 ± 1.6 cm• Subjects’ qualification was to do
independent travel frequently using train services.
TWSIs
METHODS
A mockup of staircase was built indoor. It had an intermediate landing between a pair of flights, upper and lower, of 5 steps staircases.
Experimental setup
Intermediate landing5
5
600 (562)
Layout Astairs
300 (319)
300 (262)
Layout B
300 (319)
600 (562)
Layout C
(none)
Layout D
Layout of TWSIs; 4 layouts were examined.
Unit: mm
METHODS
*numbers in parentheses reveal effective dimensions
Top or bottom of the staircase
Setback
Depth
METHODS
Top
Bottom
Experimental Procedure
End of Descent
(EOD)Approach to Ascend (ATA)
Approach to Descend (ATD)
RESULTS
DescendingApproach to Descend (ATD)
Comparison of the layouts of TWSIs at the top of the staircase
RESULTS
AscendingApproach to Ascend (ATA)
DescendingEnd of Descent (EOD)
Comparison of the layouts of TWSIs at the bottom of the staircase
SUMMARY of Experiment 1
Ans. 1: Setback of 30cm and depth of
60cm seemed to be suitable at the top of
staircases. At the bottom of staircases,
30cm setback and 60cm depth was also
better for descending direction. The same
was true for ascending direction though the
need for the depth was not stringent.
Ans. 2: Installation of TWSIs at the
bottom of staircases was found to be
necessary though the need for depth
dimension was divisive.
EXPERIMENT 2Relationship between the degree of desire of TWSIs presence and
the length of intermediate landings
OBJECTIVES of Experiment 2
1: Is it necessary to install attention
TWSIs on both ends of intermediate
landings?
2: If there is a desire of TWSIs
installation, how the relationship
between the necessity and the
length of intermediate landing
METHODS Experimental setupA staircase mockup was made and the length
of the intermediate landing was changeable.The length to be examined were 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, 6.5, and 7.5 m respectively.
Long vs Short
Intermediate landing
TLF
BUF
5
5
No TWSIs were applied in this experiment.
METHODS Procedure
The same subjects as Experiment 1 participated.
Their need for attention pattern both at the bottom of the upper flight (BUF) and at the top of the lower flight (TLF) on intermediate landing respectively were studied after climb down stairs through the intermediate landings of various length
Bottom of Upper Flight (BUF)
RESULTS TWSIs(Attention Pattern)
Top of Lower Flight (TLF)
Intermediate LandingIntermediate Landing
? ?
SUMMARY of Experiment 2Ans. 1: The results indicated that the
installation of TWSIs for both the bottom of
upper flights and the top of lower flights is
desirable but the rate of such desire changed as
a function of the length of intermediate landing.
Ans. 2: The relationship between the desire of
TWSIs installation and the length of the
intermediate landing showed that TWSIs
installation is necessary when the length of
intermediate landing exceed 2.5m at the
bottom of upper flights and 1.8m at the top
of lower flights.
CONCLUSION1. In the 1st experiment, it was found that TWSIs of
attention pattern are necessary for both of the top and bottom of staircase.
2. It also showed that 30cm setback and 60cm depth were desirable.
3. In the 2nd experiment, it was found that TWSIs are necessary to install at the bottom of a upper flight on intermediate landings when it is longer than 2.5m.
4. It also showed that the desire for installation of TWSIs is much stronger in case of the top of a lower flight than the bottom of a upper flight.
5. Further investigation by low vision subjects will be needed to obtain more detailed layout of TWSIs installation
Thank you for your attention