Illinois' capital city is accessible to the sighted and visually impaired thanks to wayfinding app
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., April 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Springfield, Illinois commissioned Sensible Innovations to deploy Aware, its audible wayfinding solution, on downtown streets so that visitors, including those that are blind or visually impaired, can receive turn-by-turn walking directions and audible descriptions of destinations in real time.
Sensible Innovations worked with certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists and successfully implemented Aware (Utility Patent No. 9,726,746) by placing 244 Bluetooth Low Energy devices (iBeacons) downtown. The project was successfully launched in October 2018.
Sensible Innovations' founder and CEO, Rasha Said, explained that Aware negates the need to memorize routes and landmarks encouraging users to explore their surroundings with more confidence and independence.
"The app is free and can be used by anyone that has a smartphone, Android or iPhone, with large font for easy reading and VoiceOver for people that are visually impaired," she said. "The signal is carried from the iBeacons, which each have a five-year battery, to the phone."
Rasha's goal is to create a world without limits for America's 21 million people that are visually impaired, which includes her teenage son and the inspiration behind Aware.
"Typically, navigational apps are image-based, which are not accessible to the visually impaired. Aware is audible and allows custom information based on user preference to be integrated," said Rasha. "For example, Aware will not only tell the user that they are approaching the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, but it will also provide opening and closing times, current exhibits, and cost of a ticket, besides layout description for a visually impaired user."
Speaking at the Downtown Springfield Inc. annual dinner, City of Springfield Mayor, Jim Langfelder encouraged dwellers to download the app.
"I am proud to say that the City of Springfield is the first city in the world to offer this navigation for both visually impaired and those in need of directional assistance. The technology is now offered throughout downtown, connecting visitors to historic sites and participating merchants," he said.
Named as one of CES2018's Innovation Award Honorees in the Smart Cities category, the next phase in development for Aware is the translation of information into different languages so that visitors to the City of Springfield can fully experience President Abraham Lincoln's hometown.
For more information about Aware email [email protected] or visit sensible-innovations.com.
SOURCE Sensible Innovations
Share this article