Technology improves everyday living conditions: innovative and data-driven initiatives were presented at the ChangeNOW Summit
Arrow Electronics, a global technology provider, introduced the new Data Analytics & Network Innovation project, also known as “DANI Project”, which helps improve the lives of people who use wheelchairs and those with limited mobility. Arrow illustrated the project during the ChangeNOW, a three-day international summit held in Paris (19-21 May), during which leading researchers and innovators shared ideas and solutions aimed at protecting the planet and making the quality of life more sustainable.
At the base of the DANI project is wheelchair tennis player Dani Caverzaschi, 28 years old, born without much of his right leg and with various malformations on his left. Dani plays on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Wheelchair Tennis Tour and will participate for the first time in the second Grand Slam™ of the year, Roland-Garros, from 31 May to 4 June. He also played with the Spanish national team, which placed second, for the second consecutive year, in the World Cup in Vilamoura, Portugal, in May.
Arrow and Dani are collaborating on two technological solutions to improve the lives of wheelchair users and those with disabilities:
- ‘WheelWay’ – an innovative navigation system, designed specifically for anyone with limited mobility that helps overcome the problems associated with traveling in cities.
- ‘DataRally’ – real-time data, coming from sensors present on the wheelchair, on the equipment and on the athlete's body, which allow competitive performances to be analysed, perfected and improved.
Expanding Arrow's experience and skills, the two solutions introduce a new approach to mobility, in an integrated way, and make use of revolutionary technologies, which combine advanced hardware and software, cloud architecture and analytics to acquire and study data. Uniquely, the data is relevant to the specific needs of those who are in a wheelchair or have limited mobility.
WheelWay focuses on “what is possible”, rather than obstacles, allowing people in wheelchairs to organize their journeys and discover the surrounding city. The itinerary instructions combine "live" data from GPS Smart and public cloud services, to provide "real-time" and mobility-friendly route information. This is a unique solution for the disabled community.
The second initiative, DataRally, is designed for professional wheelchair athletes and aims to improve their performance, allowing them to obtain competitive advantages. Until now, Dani has had to rely on his sensitivity and intuition to optimize his game. Today, thanks to the use of sensors installed on the wheelchair, on the tennis racket and a device worn on the wrist, DataRally allows Dani and his coach to collect and analyze the data of each match and training session in real time, to identify precise areas of his level of play to work on.
The technology can be adapted to measure speed, acceleration, distance traveled, impacts, rpm, heart rate, serve speed, ball placement on the racket and more.
“These solutions are non-invasive and do not make me more dependent,” he said Caverzaschi, whose goal is to simplify disability. "I generate the data, which is then analyzed, then the information comes back to me through the apps, allowing me to make informed decisions. It's up to me to decide where to go and what to do. I decide how to behave on the field. The data allows me greater choice, but also more freedom and opportunities."
DANI is an Edge Computing project that brings data processing and storage closer to their origin. Each technology is developed by researchers in Arrow's Graduate Program: young collaborators who, like Dani, are in their twenties and digital natives.
