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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <atom:link href="https://rip.trb.org/Record/RSS?s=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" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
    <image>
      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Statewide augmented information in the driver environment study</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2570738</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The purpose of this project is to increase lifelong independence and safe vehicle operation by improving access to environmental information while driving, particularly among older adults and people with visual impairments. By simulating a new framework for computer-vision assisted augmented reality (CVAR) in the driving environment, the research team intends to study how augmenting roadway elements (e.g., lines on the road, lane markers, and obstructions) improves overall operational performance. It is predicted that the universal design approach used in this work will not only substantially benefit older adult drivers but will also benefit all drivers. This is because the University of Maine (UMaine) CVAR solution can be used to improve access to roadway elements during situations of reduced visibility (e.g., at night or during inclement weather) while also highlighting an eventual suite of potential hazards (e.g., downed limbs, wildlife, and pedestrians).  

The work will expand UMaine's Virtual Environments and Multimodal Interaction Laboratory (VEMI Lab)’s current autonomous vehicle simulator (MOISIN: Multimodal Omnidirectional Immersive Simulator for Inclusive Navigation) to include a manual driving operational mode. Related software will also be developed to simulate new inclusive CVAR approaches that combine multisensory feedback with augmented visual information to expand access to a wide range of potential drivers. The resulting UIs will be tested in a series of user studies examining the impact on driving performance across various driving scenarios.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 02 Jul 2025 13:53:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2570738</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Visually Impaired Pedestrians and Protected Intersections with Bike Lanes
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2558393</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Ensuring pedestrian facilities are accessible to people with vision impairments is required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, protected intersections with separated bicycle lanes present accessibility and safety challenges. Some examples include the difficulty of knowing when a bicyclist is present because of the low audibility of bicycles and the limited availability of nonvisual communication devices to help navigate these facilities.

Additionally, these intersections often have serial crossings, which makes it difficult to orient oneself and identify safe travel paths and crossing points. Moreover, it can be challenging to distinguish between traffic lanes and refuge areas. Research is needed to identify and address the needs of pedestrians with vision impairments, as well as to develop consistent and clear design guidelines for protected intersections with separated bike lanes.

Note: According to FHWA-HRT-23-052 published in May 2023, a protected intersection is defined as an intersection that includes features to separate bicyclists from motor vehicle traffic for a portion of the intersection using physical elements (e.g., raised curbs, bollards, pylons).

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop a guide that identifies and evaluates treatments and tools to enhance safety, orientation, and wayfinding for pedestrians—particularly those with vision impairments—at crossings within protected intersections. The research shall focus on the needs of pedestrians with vision impairments and the treatments that support safe navigation across separated bicycle lanes—also known as protected bicycle lanes or cycle tracks.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 28 May 2025 10:21:31 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2558393</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Human Factors: Optimizing Crosswalks and Aesthetic Surface Treatments (a.k.a. Pavement Art) for Pedestrians with Disabilities</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2536269</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This research will look to establish guidance and technical specifications that complement 
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) standards and better ensure that aesthetic surface treatments support pedestrians with visual disabilities. The goal will be to establish best practices and guidance for the use of aesthetic crosswalks or pavement art to enhance safer and more efficient use of crosswalks by pedestrians with visual impairments (low vision) and safer vehicle-pedestrian interactions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 11 Apr 2025 16:58:49 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2536269</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Audible Indications for Accessible Pedestrian Signals</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2381696</link>
      <description><![CDATA[To cross streets safely, pedestrians with vision disabilities (including those with hearing disabilities) must quickly and accurately determine the onset of the walk indication. They must also be able to recognize and determine, by sound, the trajectories of vehicles that may intrude into their path of travel to allow them to take appropriate action, such as delaying the onset of crossing or pausing while crossing.

In recent years, state departments of transportation have made great efforts to enhance accessibility for pedestrians with vision disabilities. These efforts often contemplate implementing various features of Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS), such as changing the default walk indication from a percussive tone to a speech message and incorporating audible countdowns during the pedestrian change interval. However, these features are not fully aligned with the requirements outlined in the current Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

While the existing MUTCD standards do specify percussive tones for the walk interval, and the return of the locator tone during the clearance interval to prevent auditory masking of vehicle sounds and reduce cognitive load, groups representing vision-impaired individuals have suggested that speech messages and audible countdowns could provide more descriptive auditory cues. These enhancements may improve safety by increasing accessibility, confidence, and independence for APS users.

Research is needed to provide empirical evidence on whether these proposed changes enhance the safety and accessibility of APS for pedestrians with vision disabilities.

The objective of the project is to determine the most effective types of indications for APS to enhance the safety and accessibility of pedestrians with vision disabilities using research on human factors through a combination of laboratory and field experiments.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2024 21:26:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2381696</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Transportation Barriers to Vision Care for the Visually Impaired</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2342038</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Concerns about or problems with transportation acutely affect the large and growing population of people in the US living with visual impairments, who have been shown in previous studies to lack adequate transportation which keeps them from receiving low vision rehabilitation and other specialized care. This research will take a multi-fold approach to understanding safety concerns that pose transportation barriers to health care among Nebraska residents with visual impairments, focusing on those living in rural areas. For one research thrust, the project team will conduct in-depth, semi-structured interviews with patients seeking care at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s (UNMC's) Weigel Williamson Center for Visual Rehabilitation, which operates a main clinic in Omaha and satellite clinics in Lincoln and Hastings—the latter intended to serve people living in rural and small urban areas in central and western Nebraska. Interview data will shed light on transportation safety and access concerns facing patients as well as on the prevalence and nature of transport barriers to low vision care. For another research thrust, the project team, working with University of Nebraska, Lincoln (UNL) and UNMC partners, will explore potential strategies for addressing transportation barriers, such as deploying innovative, integrated non-emergency medical transportation services; coordinating patient transportation; providing travel training or information on alternative transportation services at points of care; and offering telerehabilitation. This cross-cutting research, with implications for policymaking and practice in transportation and medicine, will advance understanding of transportation barriers facing rural residents with visual impairments and assess strategies to address these barriers.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 19 Feb 2024 18:28:51 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2342038</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Pedestrian Auditory Situational Awareness: Tesseract Crosswalk Module</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2244355</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Driver and environmental factors, perceptual limitations, and distractions typically dictate how vulnerable pedestrians are while crossing the street at signalized or unsignalized crosswalks. The series of research supported through Center for Advanced Transportation Mobility (CATM) funding seeks to systematically investigate critical factors associated with unsafe crosswalk activities. First, naturalistic observations of pedestrians performing street crossing on a rural higher education campus informed the develop of a 1:1 physical and virtual crosswalk testbed used to study pedestrian auditory situation awareness (ASA) with personal listening devices (PLD). Thereafter, the investigation of intervention technologies for low-vision pedestrians is ongoing to better understand how to design human-machine interfaces for implementing appropriate countermeasures to reduce pedestrian distractions at crosswalks. Lastly, a mobile testbed is to be developed for remote education and training of safe street crossings.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 13 Sep 2023 13:11:09 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2244355</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Floating Transit Stops and Passengers with Vision Disabilities



</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2083656</link>
      <description><![CDATA[There are two major types of bus stops (hereinafter referred to as transit boarding islands) that separate the classic sidewalk-to-bus loading process: (1) floating bus islands for boarding (i.e., boarding islands separated from the sidewalk by cut-through bicycle lane(s)) and (2) extended sidewalks that connect the existing sidewalk to the transit stop, thus requiring bicyclists to cross the shared waiting area for bus/rail loading. These transit boarding islands enable people riding bicycles to bypass the conflict zone where transit vehicles would otherwise block access to bike lanes as transit vehicles pull curbside to board and alight passengers. While the transit boarding islands reduce conflicts between bicyclists and transit vehicles, they introduce conflicts between bicyclists and pedestrians. These conflicts occur because the transit boarding islands usually require pedestrians to cross the bikeway when traveling to or from the platform where the transit stop is located.
The majority of people with vision disabilities are pedestrians and transit riders. Making public rights-of-way, including bike facilities, safely accessible to people with vision disabilities is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and supported by special funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for transportation safety programs to reduce crashes and fatalities, with a particular focus on bicyclists and pedestrians. Bicycles affect the safety of pedestrians with vision disabilities in the vicinity of bike facilities because bicycles are largely inaudible, especially in the relatively noisy environments of public rights-of-way. Of particular concern is safe access to transit boarding islands.
There are numerous sources for design guidelines for protected bicycle facilities across the United States, including guidelines for transit boarding islands. However, there is limited research on enhancing the safety of vision-disabled pedestrians. Planning and Designing Streets to be Safer and More Accessible for People with Vision Disabilities&mdash;A Toolkit for Montgomery County and the Metropolitan Washington Region (2021) contains several suggested treatments to improve safety and wayfinding for pedestrians with vision disabilities. Still, human factors research does not validate their effectiveness, and no treatments are suggested for improving the safety of pedestrians with vision disabilities when crossing bike lanes. Getting to the Curb: A Guide to Building Protected Bike Lanes That Work for Pedestrians (2019), San Francisco Vision Zero Coalition contains information about the challenges for people with disabilities at transit boarding islands with design considerations in the layout options. Its conclusion includes suggestions for practitioners to work closely &ldquo;with seniors, people with disabilities, and disability organizations to codesign and pilot context-appropriate solutions.&rdquo; Human factors research is needed to address several issues related to bicycle yielding and detection of drop-offs where there is grade separation between pedestrians and bicycles.
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this research is to produce guidelines for transportation planners and engineers to make transit boarding islands safe and accessible for pedestrians with vision disabilities and all other users. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 10:45:14 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2083656</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>SPR-2325: Implementation and Evaluation of Aira Access Pilot Run in Connecticut</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2003110</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The goal of this project is to implement Aira, one of the fastest-growing assistive technology options used for blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals, across the entire State of Connecticut, to be used for navigation, wayfinding, riding public transportation, and to ensure proper social distancing for BLV individuals. In this regard, the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center (CTSRC) at the University of Connecticut (UCONN) project team will be responsible for surveying BLV individuals to understand travel patterns and barriers faced by visually impaired individuals in Connecticut. The survey results can provide an overview of the needs and barriers faced by people who are blind or have low vision while using public transportation or conducting daily chores such as shopping for groceries, medicine, etc. Aira pilot service will then be implemented across Connecticut to assist BLV individuals. The Aira Corporation will be responsible for the pilot run of the Aira Services. The BLV participants for the pilot implementation will be selected from the Blind Registry maintained by the Bureau of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB) within the Connecticut Department of Aging and Disability Services (ADS) in Connecticut (Connecticut ADS-BESB). The final list of participants will be decided based on the agreement between Aira, UCONN, Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), and Connecticut ADS-BESB. Multiple follow-up user surveys will be conducted to understand how the service provided by Aira can help BLV individuals in using public transportation and access to essential services. Aira also provides a real-time dashboard with qualitative and quantitative information regarding the service provided by Aira. An evaluation of the Aira provided real-time dashboard along with qualitative and quantitative data will be conducted by the CTSRC project team to generate performance matrices and to provide a summary of their services to the stakeholders.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 04 Aug 2022 01:22:05 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2003110</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Safe and Efficient E-Wayfinding (SeeWay) Guidance for the Transition to Autonomous Vehicles for the Visually Impaired</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1923094</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Description:  Independent travel for blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals is essential for maximizing quality of life, by enabling travel to work and recreational activities. Leveraging autonomous vehicles, efficient and safe indoor-to outdoor navigational guidance has the potential to fill this gap for BVI travelers. The research team will start the project by studying and exploring the needs, wants, and concerns of BVI travelers between indoor environments (including home, school, work, etc.) and the locations where they will access future autonomous vehicles in each of those locations to allow for independent travel. The team will derive design criteria based upon a human factors analysis and the resulting models will guide the assistive navigation system development. Based on crowdsourcing and human-centered artificial intelligence (AI) frameworks, the team will explore state-of-the-art computer vision and AI-based environment recognition technologies to enable efficient navigational guidance and improve travel safety for BVI individuals.

Intellectual Merit: The goal of the research is to enable Safe, Efficient and Electronic (E-) Wayfinding (SeeWay) guidance solutions for the transition to facilitate BVI individuals to access autonomous vehicles by exploring and developing a portable and affordable solution.

Broader Impacts: Despite its challenges, independent travel for blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals is an essential component of quality of life, enabling travel to work and recreational activities. Autonomous vehicle technologies have the potential of meeting these challenges. However, efficiently and safely guiding BVI travelers between indoor environments and vehicles outdoors remains a key obstacle. In the future transportation chain, assistive navigation technologies, connecting BVI travelers and vehicles, will be of extraordinary importance for BVI individuals in the context of social justice and health care/public health.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 06 Mar 2022 13:49:21 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1923094</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of Closed Crossing Tactile Indicators</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1906838</link>
      <description><![CDATA[There are currently no low maintenance, cost effective industry standard treatments for tactile closed crossing indicator markings for visually impaired people. Crossings are formally closed when an official sign prohibits such a crossing. Tactile pavement indicators are also needed as wayfinding cues for non-visual users.
Tactile paving surfaces can be used to convey important information to visually impaired pedestrians about their environment, for example, hazard warnings, directional guidance, or the presence of an amenity. Each type of tactile paving surface should be exclusively reserved for its intended use and consistently installed in accordance with guidelines. Visually impaired people are becoming increasingly mobile, both within their local area and more widely, and it is, therefore, very important that conflicting and confusing information is not conveyed. 
The development division has a proof-of-concept application applied in a partnership with WSDOT and The Lighthouse for the Blind. The new treatment application and project location provide a catalyst for evaluating, improving, and developing guidance, standards & specifications moving forward. 
The research will utilize the current WSDOT proof of concept tactile surface treatment pilot location to develop a set of guidelines that can be used to determine the frequency of the application, recommend the type of materials that should be used. Another desirable objective will be to establish a method for determining the maximum service life for different types of material markings placed on different types of pavement surfaces.
 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2022 18:36:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1906838</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Accessible Public Bus and Rail Passenger Information for Riders with Vision Disabilities</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1893353</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No abstract provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 25 Nov 2021 12:44:20 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1893353</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Connected Electric Vehicles: Personal Listening Device Vehicle-to-Pedestrian Communication Systems in Virtual Reality</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1884828</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The steady increase of electric vehicles (EVs) on roadways has led to safety concerns for vulnerable populations. The electric motor utilized in EVs produces considerably less noise compared to the internal combustion engine (ICE) in gasoline-powered vehicles, especially when traveling at slow speeds. Although pedestrians across all demographics are at risk, visually impaired pedestrians face significantly greater disadvantages in environments where ambient noise levels are high in relation to EV noise output. A major reason for this is because they depend on auditory cues to discern traffic flow when making life-threatening decisions such as crossing complex intersections or walking through city streets. Considering traffic data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the aim of the proposed research is to improve the lives of vulnerable pedestrians by determining the effects of different vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) alert systems on signal-response times. This study seeks to: (1) identify and evaluate modes by which V2P systems can be effectively implemented for use in urban street crossing environments; (2) determine the efficacy of V2P systems in relation to pedestrian reaction time; and (3) obtain evidence to support the need for non-intrusive V2P alert systems as a safety precaution for vulnerable road users.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 12 Oct 2021 11:34:18 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1884828</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Wearables to Command More Access and Inclusion in a Smarter Transportation System</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1697991</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Visual impairment engenders mobility losses, debility, illness and premature mortality. Mobility losses are also tied to compromised quality of life, and an unemployment rate that approaches 60-80% in almost every developed country in the moderately and severely VI stratum. In many cases, health and wellbeing are ‘attacked’ by vision loss in any form factor; psychosocial barriers such as anxiety and depression are compounding influences that increase as deficits scale; fear of falling is a threat that contributes to this downward 'spiral’ and often goes unchecked; this fear is alarmingly justified, as visual impairment precipitates substantial increases in mechanical trips, falls and long-bone factures.This project will increase the safety profile and ease-of-use of the VIS 4 ION (Visually Impaired Smart Service System for Spatial Intelligence and Onboard Navigation) platform toward ‘connected’ dynamic navigation in complex urban environments, providing a new level of security to the end user and permitting one to break down significant barriers to employment and social interaction.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 05 May 2020 09:07:03 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1697991</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>PERCEPT Indoor Navigation System for Visually Impaired:  Beta Study</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1574981</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Independent navigation through unfamiliar indoor spaces is beset with barriers for Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) individuals. A task that is trivial and spontaneous for people without disabilities, has to be planned and coordinated with other individuals for the BVI population.  Currently there are no commercial systems that enable BVI users to independently navigate in indoor environments. The PERCEPT system (PERCEPT), is an affordable and accurate indoor navigation system for BVI users, that was developed by Professor Ganz and her team at the University of Massachusetts 5G Mobile Evolution Lab. Using real time localization and detailed navigation instructions that are automatically generated, PERCEPT enables BVI users to independently navigate through large indoor venues as demonstrated in trials in North Station. This project objective is to assist MBTA evaluate PERCEPT suitability for MBTA system-wide deployment. To accomplish this objective the research team will conduct a beta study with at least 20 BVI participants who will download and use PERCEPT on their Smartphones to independently access and navigate the MBTA’s subway system at North Station.  This information will be used to determine MBTA system-wide deployment of PERCEPT.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Dec 2018 15:47:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1574981</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Tactile Walking Surface Indicators To Aid Wayfinding For Visually Impaired Travelers In Multimodal Travel</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1516176</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No abstract provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jun 2018 16:47:04 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1516176</guid>
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