A human probe for measuring walkability

Recent mobile devices are integrated with various kinds of sensors, thereby allowing people to capture what stationary sensing devices cannot easily acquire. We term the systems that exploit the ubiquity of the users of such devices Human Probes . To realize a Human-Probe environment, our research group has examined the usefulness of pressure sensors embedded in shoes [2]. In this demonstration, we present our recent work that extends our previous research on embedded pressure sensors by considering complimentary uses of accelerometers so as to measure walkability in our everyday spaces. Pressure sensors and accelerometers are similarly useful for capturing the motion of pedestrians; however, the close examination of the signals from both sensors reveals the strengths and the weaknesses of each, and suggests the possibility of their complimentary use to support Human Probes.