The CNIB Foundation is proud to announce their partnership with MapinHood, a personalized navigation app specifically designed to source accessible and safe routes in the city of Toronto.
Accessible navigation apps are often an essential tool for people with sight loss. They allow for independent, safe travel. But prior to the release of MapinHood, most navigation apps have been designed to meet the needs of drivers and transit riders, rather than for pedestrians.
The pilot registration for the fully accessible app, which launches today, uses crowdsourcing data to plot individualized routes so users can safely and quickly navigate the city. Now, especially during the time of COVID-19, the need for these tools that support safe and accessible navigation has never been greater. For people with sight loss, who rely on touch, technology, and companions to navigate the world around them, physical distancing can be practically impossible.
The app will allow users to access personalized navigation routes, and aid in avoiding hazards, locate amenities, and will even help Torontonians practice social distancing. The app will provide feedback and route users away from crowded sidewalks, aiding in safe, independent travel, as well as helping to minimize everyone’s risk of exposure.
MapinHood is currently seeking participants in the Toronto area to help pilot the new app. The pilot program will run from May 22, 2020 and will ask for feedback through a five-minute survey, once a month until August 2020.
To register, use the code CNIB2020 and visit https://mapinhood.com/pilotRegister
MapinHood is available for download on for iOS or android app store:
iOS - http://tiny.cc/23x0jz
Android - http://tiny.cc/e3x0jz