Sweidan Saadeh Z, Darabkh Khalid A, Afaneh Rawan Abdalla Mohommad
Computer Engineering Department, School of Engineering, The University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 2;15(1):22911. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-00716-w.
In recent years, societies and governments worldwide have increasingly focused on addressing the rights and needs of individuals with various disabilities. Concurrently, smartphone applications (apps) have gained widespread popularity across diverse age groups. Today, there is an app available for nearly every aspect of daily life, from weather forecasts to online education and banking. Many of these apps are designed to assist people with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs. Most apps related to wheelchair accessible buildings around the world provide only basic features like finding buildings, rating their accessibility features, and filtering search results. Even more, they usually don't support Arabic language which may be a challenge for the users in Arabic countries. To fill this gap, we introduce WellPathJo, as an Android application with both Arabic and English interfaces that is designed to help users identify accessible public buildings in major cities. In fact, we present a complete suite of features, no other similar app offers like the ability to add new buildings, exchange experiences between users, and even provide a chatbot to response to queries. WellPathJo includes four key accessibility features: ramps, elevators, restrooms, and parking spaces. The app caters to three user types: admins, building owners, and wheelchair users. Admins oversee the overall system, building owners update information for specific buildings, and wheelchair users can use the app to find public buildings, learn about their accessibility features, and provide feedback through ratings and comments. To assess the app's effectiveness, a survey was conducted after a one-month trial period with a group of potential users. The responses have shown general satisfaction. The chatbot was rated positively by 75%, and 80% were satisfied with community interactions. 70% felt confident using the emergency button feature. Navigation and the Arabic version of the app also received positive feedback from 85%. On the other hand, 75% rated the chatbot interface favorably, and 85% found search results accurate. Additionally, 78% felt comfortable using the app for extended periods. In conclusion, WellPathJo was well received. Looking ahead, future enhancements will incorporate artificial intelligence, support additional languages, add new accessibility features, complement new cities, and include an iOS version, among other plans.
近年来，全球各国社会和政府越来越关注满足各类残疾人的权利和需求。与此同时，智能手机应用程序（应用）在不同年龄群体中广受欢迎。如今，从天气预报到在线教育和银行业务，日常生活的方方面面几乎都有相应的应用。其中许多应用旨在帮助残疾人，包括使用轮椅的人。世界上大多数与无障碍轮椅建筑相关的应用仅提供一些基本功能，如查找建筑、对其无障碍功能进行评级以及筛选搜索结果。更有甚者，它们通常不支持阿拉伯语，这对阿拉伯国家的用户来说可能是个挑战。为了填补这一空白，我们推出了WellPathJo，这是一款具有阿拉伯语和英语界面的安卓应用程序，旨在帮助用户识别大城市中的无障碍公共建筑。事实上，我们提供了一整套功能，没有其他类似应用具备，比如添加新建筑、用户之间交流经验，甚至提供聊天机器人来回答问题的能力。WellPathJo包括四个关键的无障碍功能：坡道、电梯、洗手间和停车位。该应用面向三种用户类型：管理员、建筑所有者和轮椅使用者。管理员监督整个系统，建筑所有者更新特定建筑的信息，轮椅使用者可以使用该应用查找公共建筑、了解其无障碍功能，并通过评级和评论提供反馈。为了评估该应用的有效性，在对一组潜在用户进行为期一个月的试用后进行了一项调查。调查结果显示总体满意度较高。聊天机器人的好评率为75%，80%的人对社区互动感到满意。70%的人对使用紧急按钮功能有信心。导航和应用的阿拉伯语版本也获得了85%的积极反馈。另一方面，75%的人对聊天机器人界面评价良好，85%的人认为搜索结果准确。此外，78%的人觉得长时间使用该应用很舒适。总之，WellPathJo受到了好评。展望未来，未来的改进将包括整合人工智能、支持更多语言、添加新的无障碍功能、补充新的城市，并推出iOS版本等其他计划。
