Walking is now promoted as an alternative transport mode to polluting cars and as a successful means to improve health and longevity. Intelligent transport systems navigation services are now directly targeting travelers due to smartphones and their embedded sensors. However, after a decade of research, no universal personal navigation system has been successfully introduced and adopted to improve personal mobility. An analysis of the underlying reasons is conducted, looking at the engineering, human, ethical, and legal challenges. First, contrary to adopting classical mechanization equations linked to solid state physics, location technologies must address complex personal dynamics using connected objects. Second, human factors are often not sufficiently considered while designing new technologies. The needs and abilities of travelers are not systematically addressed from a user-centered perspective. Finally, people want to benefit from location-based services without sharing personal location data to uncontrolled third bodies. Europe is a pioneer in the protection of individuals from personal identification through data processing since location data has been recognized as personal data, but the challenges to enforce the regulation are numerous. The recommendation of “privacy by design and default” is an interesting key to conceive the universal personal navigation solution. Alternative solutions are highlighted, but they definitively require a more interdisciplinary conception.
['Valerie Renaudin', 'Aurélie Dommes', 'Michèle Guilbot']
Engineering, Human, and Legal Challenges of Navigation Systems for Personal Mobility