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A24 TECHNOLOGY
Tuesday 9 July 2019

Flying blind: Apps help visually impaired navigate airport

By KRISTEN DE GROOT
Associated Press
Navigating airports can be
tricky. They’re loud, crowd-
ed and not always laid out
intuitively. They’re even
more challenging for visu-
ally impaired people.
Chieko Asakawa knows
those challenges firsthand,
and she has also devised a
remedy.
Asakawa has been blind
since she was 14 and is now
an IBM Fellow and a profes-
sor in Carnegie Mellon Uni-
versity’s Robotics Institute.
This spring, she and other
researchers at Carnegie
Mellon launched a navi-
gation app for Pittsburgh
International Airport that
provides turn-by-turn audio
instructions to users on how
to get to their destination,
be it a departure gate, res-
taurant or restroom.
Pittsburgh is one of a grow-
ing number of airports
around the globe to pro-
vide wayfinding apps. The
Pittsburgh app, called Nav-
Cog, was first used at the
Carnegie Mellon campus
and works almost like an in-
door GPS.
“Independence is very im-
portant,” she said. “Tech-
nology has been helping
us to be more independent This June 9, 2019 photo shows Chieko Asakawa using the airport wayfinding app that she and her team at Carnegie Mellon
and this is one of the ex- University to navigate through Pittsburgh International Airside terminal in Imperial, Pa. before boarding a flight to Japan.
amples. We still have a lot Associated Press
of challenges, but we will port to wirelessly communi- minutes, go from the gate service called Aira, where ber of airports and train
keep working to make it cate a user’s location. to a restroom in a minute users connect with an stations try different tech-
easier.” Users put in where they are and go from the gate to “agent” either by using nological approaches to
Typically, visually impaired going; for example, Gate a restaurant in about four glasses equipped with a make their spaces easier to
travelers arrive at the Pitts- A3. minutes, the researchers camera or through a smart- navigate for the visually im-
burgh airport and request The app gives users audio said. phone app that accesses paired. The NavCog app,
an escort, Asakawa said, instructions like “walk 20 Carnegie Mellon and the the user’s camera. he said, is a useful mashup
but escorts aren’t available feet and turn left” and gets airport have partnered in Agents look at the footage of systems he’s seen over
until passengers check in. them to their destination. developing new systems and help relay what they the years.
So they must reach the The app lets users know and technologies for en- see to the user, getting He cautions, though, that
counter on their own. what stores they might be hancing traveler experi- them where they need to the blind population is
The escort brings pas- passing, giving them a bet- ences and airport opera- go. The service is typically older and has a high un-
sengers to their gate and ter sense of their surround- tions. The technology is subscription-based and employment rate, so
leaves, she said. For Asaka- ings, and shopping options. tested at the university’s can be used at home or at many don’t have access
wa, if she wanted a coffee, It relies on a map of the on-site lab at the airport. work, but participating air- to smartphones, meaning
or if the flight was delayed, terminal that has been an- “Part of our commitment ports pay the fees for users such apps might be inac-
it was very difficult to man- notated with the locations to the public includes mak- on site. cessible.
age, and very often she’d of restrooms, restaurants, ing sure our airport works for Louisville International in Having options is always
just be stranded at the gates, entrances and tick- everyone, particularly as Kentucky installed an app beneficial for the visually
gate. eting counters. we modernize our facility similar to NavCog in 2017, impaired, said John McIn-
With NavCog, she can get Ten legally blind people for the future,” said airport created by the American erney, interim CEO of the
up and find the gift shop tested the app using an CEO Christina Cassotis. Printing House for the Blind, Pennsylvania Association
or coffee shop or even just iPhone 8, traversing the ter- The city is building a new a company that develops for the Blind.
wander around a bit, she minal’s large open spaces, airport terminal, slated to products for the visually im- “The apps can be very
said. escalators and moving open in 2023, and incorpo- paired. helpful,” McInerney said.
The app is up and running walkways with few errors. rating the latest technolo- Brian Charlson, with the “The whole idea is that you
and free to download. Most users were able to gy is a top priority, she said. American Council of the would not have to depend
It works with the help of reach the ticketing counter Dozens of airports, includ- Blind, has been involved on a person to help you.
hundreds of Bluetooth bea- in three minutes, traverse ing Philadelphia Interna- in wayfinding for over 30 But even today, that’s still a
cons installed inside the air- the terminal in about six tional, offer free use of a years and has seen a num- pretty good option.”q