PathAble

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Inspiration

"Is there a wheelchair ramp at that bus stop?" "Will I be able to get into this building on my own?"

In most cities, there's no centralized system to track accessibility. People with disabilities face daily uncertainty and exclusion due to lack of verified, accessible infrastructure data.

We built PathAble to give people clear, verified, map-based information about accessibility—powered by the community and trusted NGOs.

What it does

PathAble is a civic-tech accessibility platform that allows users to:

📍 Report accessibility issues (with images, location, and descriptions)

✅ Have reports verified by NGOs

🗺️ View reports on an interactive map

🏆 Earn badges and climb leaderboards

🌐 Access multi-language features (Premium)

🔐 Use role-based access for users, NGOs, and premium members

How we built it

Frontend:

React.js

Tailwind CSS

React Leaflet + React-Leaflet-Draw

Backend:

Node.js + Express.js

MongoDB with Mongoose ODM

Cloudinary for image uploads

OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim & GeoNames for geolocation

Experimental Features:

Hugging Face / Teachable Machine for image validation

Firebase Auth (optional for user authentication)

Challenges we ran into

🚧 Challenges We Faced 🌐 Integrating OpenStreetMap + reverse geocoding accurately

🔐 Managing role-based access control for different user types

🧠 Validating images of accessibility features using ML tools

📦 Handling Cloudinary image uploads securely

🔄 Syncing real-time map data with verified reports

Accomplishments that we're proud of

✅ Successfully implemented NGO verification zones

🗺️ Created a smooth map-drawing interface for NGOs

🖼️ Enabled image hosting and auto geotagging

🎮 Added gamified elements like badges and leaderboards

💬 Implemented multi-language support (for premium users)

What we learned

Effective use of React Leaflet for spatial visualization

Securely integrating Cloudinary and environment variables

Importance of civic-focused, community-driven UX

Handling real-world geographic APIs and data noise

Building a product with a real social impact

What's next for PathAble

📱 Launch a mobile version (React Native / Flutter)

📊 Analytics for NGOs and city planners

🧪 More accurate ML-based image validation

🧠 Smart suggestions using AI for auto-categorization

💬 Add speech-to-text reports for people with visual disabilities

🚪 Target Users 👨‍🦽 People with disabilities

🧑‍🎓 Students/volunteers reporting accessibility

🏢 NGOs working in accessibility

🏛️ City governments and urban planners

🌍 Impact Verified, real-time accessibility reports on maps

Data that's actionable for planning and audits

Encourages inclusion, dignity, and safety in public infrastructure

🧭 Vision "Make Every Path Possible."

PathAble is not just an app—it's a movement for inclusive access. We believe accessibility is not optional—it's a right.

Built With

• bootstrap
• cloudinary
• geocoding
• mern
• mlmodel
• natural-language-processing
• openstreetmap
• tidio