Written evidence from Wayfindr (AST0007)

Summary

• Assistive technology is an important tool to support disabled people to enter and remain in the workforce.
• The government should take a broad view of the role of assistive technology in facilitating employment and consider the potential role of assistive technology in enabling people to travel to and from work reliably and predictably, an important element in entering and remaining in the workforce.
• In particular, accessible indoor navigation services can greatly improve the accessibility of public transport, making it easier for disabled people to enter and remain in the workforce.
• Indoor navigation services will be mainstream within the next five to ten years. If designed to be accessible they will help disabled people enter and remain in the workforce.

1 About Wayfindr

1.1 Wayfindr is a partnership between the charity Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) and digital product studio ustwo. Formed in 2015 and based in London, Wayfindr is an award-winning not-for-profit with ambitions to help the global community of 285 million blind people navigate indoor environments independently. Our mission is to empower vision impaired people to overcome isolation, through audio-based navigation.

1.2 Wayfindr has developed the world’s first internationally-recognised open standard for accessible audio navigation[1]. In order to build confidence in audio navigation technology, vision impaired people need a level of consistency across every navigation app that they use. This consistency is delivered by the use of the open standard, which is technology neutral and free to use. The standard has been approved by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), meaning it is recognised in 193 countries around the world[2].

2 Response to Questions

• What role can assistive technology play in removing barriers to work and helping disabled people stay in work?

2.1 Assistive technology (AT) can play a large part in removing barriers to work. In considering the role of AT in employment, due consideration should be given to the potential role of AT in helping people get to and from work reliably and predictably. Indoor navigation technology has the potential to greatly improve the accessibility of public transport by providing users with the information they need to navigate complex environments such as train stations[3]. The indoor navigation market is growing rapidly, estimated to be worth nearly £30.5billion by 2022[4]. By this time, Deloitte estimates that 25% of journeys made with the assistance of a navigation application will involve indoor journeys[5].

2.2 If indoor navigation services are designed to be accessible, they can allow people with a wide range of impairments, such as vision impairment, cognitive impairments, and print disabilities to benefit from predictable and reliable access to public transport, making it easier for them to enter and remain in the workforce. With the prevalence of these impairments set to increase as the United Kingdom’s population ages, accessible indoor navigation can help people enter the workforce and keep working for longer.

• How should the Government support the development of this technology, and are there any particular innovations it should look to support?

2.3 Wayfindr has developed an Open Standard for accessible indoor audio navigation, which allows people who are blind or vision impaired to navigate confidently and independently in complex indoor environments, such as train stations and shopping centres. This standard is recognised by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Wayfindr has successfully tested audio navigation systems at London Underground stations, as well as in Sydney, Oslo, Barcelona, and Venice. The recently-updated BSI Standard for the Design of an Accessible and Inclusive Built Environment recognises audio navigation as a wayfinding method to improve accessibility[6]. A wide range of companies offer such audio navigation systems[7].

2.4 The government should support the deployment and use of accessible navigation services to improve the ability of disabled people to use public transport independently and avoid barriers to travel, such as the need to book assistance services far in advance, or the lack of assistance services due to staff or equipment absence etc. The Department for Transport’s draft Accessibility Action Plan and in particular the proposal to update the Department’s Inclusive Mobility Guidance give the Government the perfect opportunity to support accessible indoor navigation technologies.

January 2018