Selecting Safe Walking Routes to Minimize Exposure Time in Outdoor Environments

Abstract

Walking is a beneficial activity both for the environment and for one’s health. However, the safety of pedestrians may be compromised due to the presence of harmful substances in the atmosphere, areas with poor light conditions, or physical barriers among other factors. In this work we propose a solution that takes into account the risk factors affecting users with the multiple hazards detected in outdoor environments. Hazards are identified by gathering data from heterogeneous sources, such as a network of air-quality monitoring stations and open-data sources. The developed software component has been attached to the AllergyLESS platform, a recommender system that provides safe routes recommendations. In addition, a field test was carried out to test the effectiveness of the system in a real environment with successful results.