How the Simple QR Code Became an Empowering Navigation Tool

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">This podcast is about big ideas on how technology is making life better for people with vision loss.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">This episode’s big idea is navigation and how to implement a navigation solution that enables people with vision impairment to broadly travel cities — how and when they want to, independently. Dr. Roberts talks with Javier Pita, the creator of such a technology called NaviLens, which marries location finding with information.<span class= "Apple-converted-space"> </span> Dr. Roberts also talks with representatives of New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority — one of the biggest transportation hubs in the world. They discuss the importance of accessible public transportation for people who are visually impaired and how NaviLens technology can help make independent navigation a reality. </span></p> <p class="p3"> </p> <p class="p1"><strong><span class="s1">The Big Takeaways:</span></strong></p> <ul class="ul1"> <li class="li1"><span class="s1">NaviLens system uses improved QR technology with a new type of code made up of four colors that enables it to store more information than a black and white QR code. </span></li> <li class="li1"><span class="s1">Using a smartphone, the NaviLens app scans the area. Once it picks up the unique NaviLens<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> code, the app provides the embedded information audibly to the user along with their distance/directionality from the code. </span></li> <li class="li1"><span class="s1">As long as the code appears anywhere in the field of view of the smartphone camera, the code is detected and information is delivered. </span></li> <li class="li1"><span class="s1">NaviLens is more accurate than GPS technology because it takes into account smaller distances that are crucial to navigation for people who are visually impaired. NaviLens codes can be read up to 12 times farther away than QR or bar codes as well as at 160-degree angle.</span></li> <li class="li1"><span class="s1">Fut