App helps people with low or no vision navigate new spaces in Newcastle's public buildings

Co-chairs of City of Newcastle's Access Inclusion Advisory Committee, councillor Margaret Wood and Andrew Vodic, who is also CEO of Community Disability Alliance Hunter. Picture by Max Mason-Hubers

An app to help people with vision impairment is being rolled out in public buildings across Newcastle.

BindiMaps is a way-finding app that provides an audio 'map' of a building that can help people with low or no vision navigate and find facilities such as disabled bathrooms, car spaces and elevators. It uses a network of Bluetooth beacons, a mapping and route guidance system and smartphone sensors to describe to the user where they are, what's around them, and the best way to get to their destination.