To celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2022 on 19 May, VisionBridge CIC is shining a light on Waymap, which in our view is the most innovative digital wayfinding technology on the planet to date! We believe it will transform the way in which users of Waymap can retain and improve their independence, mobility, personal safety and indeed the quality of information they require to orientate themselves and take decisions accordingly (supported by a third party if necessary), both outside and inside the built environment.
Tom Pey, CEO and Founder of Waymap, has tried to use his lived experience as a blind man to help solve the navigation challenges faced by people with reduced mobility – wherever they live and whatever their physical, sensory and mental circumstances.
So, during GAAD, he is making a speech in the USA and this is some of what he has to say:
“Waymap is an organisation that is driven by the principles of inclusive design, and we are now well positioned to take on an important role in an indoor navigation market.
The current navigation and exploration systems available do not work for everyone, and do not work inside for anyone. This impacts the lives of 25.5 million people in the US who have mobility challenges. The result? They take, on average, 27% less journeys away from home than the general population.
In the case of blind Americans, those who do venture out, will only use around 2.5 routes regularly. This means that their world is limited to just going to the grocery store and the pharmacy, for example.
This represents a significant reduction in quality of life, with serious knock-on effects including mental and physical health issues. Although we all agree that freedom of movement is a right, this loss of the ability to explore freely is a challenge that can only be solved by an inclusivity designed solution such as Waymap.
Waymap combines the latest navigation technology with a community of able bodied and disabled users, working side-by-side to share routing information. That is the vision upon which Waymap has been founded.
We spoke to users across the globe who have mobility challenges, and asked: what would help them to live life the way that they want to?
We first published their responses by way of standards, firstly at the ITU (F921) and subsequently at the CTA (2076 and 2076.1) with the support of Verizon and many disabled groups and experts across the country. This feedback became the foundation on which the Waymap solution was built.
To register for the live Verizon event during which Tom Pey will make his speech, please use these links:
https://lnkd.in/gduW5uM9
