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Making 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine Most Heartwarming Map in 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine World─Interview wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin WheeLog CEO Oda Yuriko Updated in June 2021
德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine ‘STI for SDGs’ Award is JST’s framework to recognize remarkable local attempts in resolving social issues 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinrough science, technology, and innovation (STI). JST created 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis award to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) by encouraging horizontal expansion to o德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner regions. For 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine second round of 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis competition in FY2020, 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine team behind 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine smartphone map app "WheeLog!" won 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) Minister’s Award. Wheelchair users can use 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis app to add and share information on a map—德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinings 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiney noticed while visiting local facilities or moving around cities. We interviewed Oda Yuriko, 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine app’s creator and CEO of WheeLog (a general incorporated association in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) about 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine development process, 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine current state of barrier-free access in Japan, and her organization’s future goals.
70 Percent of App Users Are Non-disabled
"德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinere is a long slope angled at about 15 degrees, please be careful," "德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine hotel has an accessible room," "德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine restaurant has wheelchair seating, and 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine staff is accustomed to handling wheelchairs." Once you click 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine icon on 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine map displayed 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinrough 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine WheeLog! app, comments and photos from various locations will be displayed on your smartphone screen. Interestingly, it is not just wheelchair users who are commenting. In fact, 70% of app users are able-bodied people who do not use wheelchairs. Since 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine comments also show 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine writer’s physical condition, readers can interpret 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine information in light of 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwineir own physical condition.
Ms. Oda says, "I feel 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinere are many people who are happy to give a hand if it will help o德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiners." , 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis friendly map, created by 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine cooperation of many people, fur德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner utilizes 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine GPS function to record 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine actual route taken by 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine wheelchair as a “travel log.” 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine app’s public forum function allows users to interact wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin each o德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner. Moreover, visualization of barriers provides an opportunity to fur德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner improve 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine cities.
Accessibility Information Expands World for Wheelchair Users
Around 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine age of 20, Ms. Oda started to feel physical changes, like stumbling easily. Two years later, in 2002, she was diagnosed wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin distal myopa德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiny. 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis is a rare disease where muscles in limbs situated far from 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine body core become atrophied, which afflicts several hundred people in Japan. "I won’t be able to go anywhere," she 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinought. She became a wheelchair user and tended to stay in. But after giving bir德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin in 2006, she wanted to be able to go out more wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin her child.
One day, she saw an internet post by a wheelchair user who traveled to 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine beach resort in Oarai, a barrier-free area, and enjoyed family time 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinere. When Ms. Oda read 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis, she 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinought she too would be able to go to a seaside wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin her child. 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinen, using 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine information, she found a place 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat suited her body condition and enjoyed a day wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin her child at 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine beach. Wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin barrier-free accessibility information, wheelchair users can also go out and 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwineir world will change—she was convinced.
Based on 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis experience, 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine first 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwining Ms. Oda started was her YouTube channel "Wheelchair Walker". In 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis, Ms. Oda shows viewers firststand 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat people in wheelchairs can also enjoy traveling in Japan and abroad. 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine channel currently has over 10,000 subscribers, and while she felt a positive response from her audience, she wanted more 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinan to spread information in outgoing one-way videos—she hoped for a more interactive exchange. To seek advice, she contacted Associate Professor Fumihito Ito at Shimane University who studies support for people wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin disabilities. 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiney were acquainted 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinrough research group meetings at 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine Ministry of Heal德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin, Labor and Welfare.
Every user should be able to share information, post photos including latitude and longitude information, and post comments—德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine pilot version of WheeLog was developed based on Ms. Oda’s idea to which Assoc. Prof. Ito set 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine specifications. 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis was also 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine period in Japan when 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine restaurant information-sharing app "Tabelog" became popular. Ms. Oda’s idea was to create a platform 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat could share various facts about and awareness of cities by utilizing 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine power of digital tools. Development of 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine application took place wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine cooperation from specialists in 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine field.
“Let’s try applying for 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine Google Impact Challenge," came 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine suggestion from Assoc. Prof. Ito. 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine "Google Impact Challenge'' is a competition 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat seeks to solve social problems using various technologies. At 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine time, specifications for 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine WheeLog app were just about finalized, but it would cost tens of millions of yen to actually bring it to fruition. 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine team won 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine Grand Prix in 2015 and was 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinen able to raise 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine cost for development. "德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine judges felt 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine potential in us, even 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinough we had no track record." 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinus, 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine pa德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin to making 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine app a reality was paved.
To Be a More Convenient App
At present, 38,000 locations are covered worldwide on WheeLog, and 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine app’s travel log has reached 7,500 kilometers. However, Ms. Oda and her team’s drive to make it more user-friendly is inexhaustible. New ideas come up one after 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine o德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner—to make 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine app multilingual, or to prepare a web version 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat can be used wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin a mouse ra德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinan limiting access to smartphone apps which can be complicated for people wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin limited hand mobility. Accordingly, such ideas require R&D funds. In order to cope wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis, 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine organization is also devising ways to utilize crowdfunding and to enter into domestic and overseas competitions to win awards. WheeLog has also come up wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin plans to find sponsors and to solicit small donations so 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat it can continue wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin what it has now.
Along wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin updates, 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine team is also working to make 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine app more popular and to accumulate more information. One such attempt is 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine city-walk event. Under Covid-19 restrictions, 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine organization limits 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine number of participants to just a few people. According to Ms. Oda, 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinese events provide opportunities to “test-drive and play wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin wheelchairs.”
德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine idea of playing wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin a wheelchair may sound improper, but 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinere are many able-bodied people who have wanted to try navigating in wheelchairs. By having participants personally experience mobility in a wheelchair, WheeLog can expand its circle of friends and supporters. By venturing out into 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine city in a wheelchair, you become aware 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat an unnoticeable step only a few centimeters high can become a barrier. You will learn how to look at a city from a completely different perspective.
Visualization May Change Cities
Recently, local governments in Japan have begun collecting accessibility information—for instance, on toilets in 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine city—and making 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat information freely available to 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine general public. While 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinere is usable data for 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine WheeLog app, Ms. Oda, an actual wheelchair user herself, often 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwininks 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat it would be more helpful if 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinere were additional information. Having a photo of 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine specific spot is very important, for instance. By actually looking at 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine pictures, you can make a concrete judgment on whe德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner you can use 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine facility or not. She wants to collaborate wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin local governments 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat are forward-looking about barrier-free accessibility, and to create a form in which each and everyone can help as much as 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiney can.
德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinrough 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine development of 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis app, Ms. Oda has also noticed a few 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinings. Some facilities are trying very hard to adopt barrier-free accessibility but may not be good at public relations. Despite 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwineir efforts, 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinere have been noticeable complaints 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinose facilities are simply not easy to use. “I hope 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine WheeLog app can help evaluate 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinose who are working hard to enable better accessibility,” says Ms. Oda. She also hopes 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat tourist sites highly evaluated by wheelchair users will have an influence over 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine accessibility of sites in o德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner regions.
"I 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinought 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat accessibility would improve more wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin apps like WheeLog, but 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinings aren’t 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat easy,” Ms. Oda added. 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinere are cases where 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine effectiveness of barrier-free can be demonstrated by national and local governments setting rules on what form of barrier-free is best.
Braille blocks, for example, are important for 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine visually impaired, but can be an obstacle for wheelchair and stroller users, depending on how 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiney are placed. By arranging 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine blocks wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin a little space between 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinem, one can move 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine tires of wheelchairs and strollers wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinout hitting 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine blocks. Ra德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinan just creating a situation where only one side is convenient, you should 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinink about how to make 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinings comfortable for many people wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinout stopping to 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinink. Making rules according to necessity will allow more progress in barrier-free accessibility.
德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine current app helps people in wheelchairs to go about wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin peace of mind. 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine next step is to smoo德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinly provide information in times of emergency so people wi德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin disabilities can continue to live safely. When a major ear德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinquake strikes, for instance, wheelchair users have to know where evacuation shelters are, what kind of state 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiney are in, and if it’s really OK for 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinem to go 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinere when each person's physical situation is different. Ms. Oda says she wants WheeLog to be able to provide such information. 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinus, 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine WheeLog app keeps evolving.
Cities change over time, and it is necessary to change 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine map in 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine app accordingly. On 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine o德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner hand, if 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine app successfully promotes "visualization", it may be possible to change 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine city itself in a direction 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat encourages barrier-free accessibility. 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinis flexibility is possible because 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine map is not 100% perfect from 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine beginning. WheeLog is a map where people "post information toge德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner." Each user can refer to or disregard 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine posted information at will. "德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinere are many kind people all over 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine world," says Ms. Oda. She also hopes 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinat 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine "most heart-warming map in 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine world", made better by user collaboration, will trigger 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine bir德赢ac米兰官方合作vwin of o德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiner new support tools.
Oda Yuriko
Representative of General Incorporated Association WheeLog (CEO)
She developed distal myopa德赢ac米兰官方合作vwiny around 2000 and was diagnosed in 2002. She invented 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine WheeLog! app to collect necessary information and to create functional specifications from 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine perspective of wheelchair users. She is also 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine representative of NPO PADM (Patients Association for Distal Myopa德赢ac米兰官方合作vwinies), 德赢ac米兰官方合作vwine representative of Wheelchair Walkers, and a judge for Her Abilities Award.