Navigation tech to better assist visually impaired

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has partnered with a navigation technology firm to address inadequate location information.

RNIB highlighted that the failures of location tracking often creates a barrier to independence for partially sighted or blind people.

The firm what3words’ technology generates a set of three words to identify a global grid split into three-meter squares (e.g., RNIB’s London office is ‘rooms.herbs.cars’). The system enables locations with no addresses to be found, and includes voice assistance, with over 85% of UK emergency services utilising the resource.

Robin Spinks, senior manager of inclusive design and innovation at RNIB, said that, as someone with sight loss, she knows all too well about the frustrations of dealing with inaccurate or approximate street address locations.