Safe Routes

Inspiration

GPS platforms like Google Maps prioritize factors such as speed and distance, but in doing so, they consider safety and comfortability much less, especially for walking routes, where a small change can increase the ETA dramatically. We wanted something that instead focuses on these factors, because speed isn't always the most important, sometimes safety or accessibility will be someone's number one concern.

What it does

Instead of just measuring distance, our system grades every walkway with a "penalty score". Smooth concrete and asphalt sidewalks get lower penalties, while rough brick, cobblestone, or walking along busy streets get higher penalties. When a user asks for directions, they are given 3 routes: Shortest Route: The fastest direct path from A to B. Comfort: A safer, smoother route that may take longer, but keeps you on quiet, well-paved sidewalks and away from heavy traffic. Wheelchair Accessible: A barrier-free route that avoids stairs and unpaved terrain, routing users along smooth, passable pathways.

How we built it

We used open-source community map data from OpenStreetMap to pull streets, sidewalks, and footpaths. This gave us the raw blueprint of where paths are, what they are made of, and where stairs exist. We used python to scan path segments, check if they are smooth or hazardous, and assign each one a "comfort score" and a "wheelchair-safe" rating.

Challenges we ran into & Accomplishments that we're proud of

We ran into many challenges while building. Firstly, it was hard for us to find APIs for our street map. It was also difficult to turn our project from an idea to something tangible. We had to scale back in order to create it in the timeframe given. We were introduced to many new technologies, and it difficult but incredibly rewarding to see things begin to come to life.

What's next for Safe Routes

We hope to extend the maps more in the future, and train an LLM to recognize the paths better. We also hope to eventually implement a "brightness route", where you can be given a route that has good lighting through it.