Space Requirements for Wheeled Mobility - University at Buffalo ...

• Overall, the preliminary research plans were well-received by Workshopparticipants. There was no criticism about the specific methods proposed inany of the projects summarized during the presentation. Strengths identifiedby participants were the multi-site approach proposed in many of the projects,the inclusion of a variety of wheeled mobility devices, the emphasis onconsistent data gathering methods, and the inclusion of both simple and highlysophisticated approaches.• The major limitation of the approach identified by some participants was thescope of the research plan. They argued that to provide the informationneeded for standards development requires even greater numbers ofindividuals, a greater variety of individuals and a more information aboutfunctional task performance. Workshop participants also emphasized theneed for more work in the field versus the laboratory.There were six major recommendations about the preliminary research agenda:1. Partner with other sponsors in the U.S. and other countries to expand theresearch plan. The current plan is a good start but much more needs to bedone. Use of anthropometry in the development of space requirements forstandards requires that all variables include demographic and devicecharacteristics are considered in the evaluation of the design parameter.2. Include field research activities designed to provide a better understanding ofthe most important environmental barriers in commercial and public buildings,as well as transportation systems.3. Ensure that the plans for keeping data efforts consistent across multiple sitesare sound so that data from these different sources can be combined.4. Ensure that careful attention continues is paid to the demographic variables,including the types of wheeled devices and categories of disability, so thatinformed design decisions can be made.5. Continue to explore the potential value of digital human modeling in spacerequirements for standards development.6. The experimental protocols used for this research agenda should be peerreviewedbe peered reviewed. A process should be developed to allow inputfrom an international group of stakeholders.In conclusion, the increasing prevalence of wheeled mobility device users and thetrends towards larger and heavier devices suggest that the current spacerequirements for wheeled mobility accessibility need to be re-evaluated. Thecurrent research plans are a good start but more thought must be given to how toexpand the plan. It is likely that a combination of basic anthropometric research,Space Requirements for Wheeled Mobility 13