Evelyn Valdez is usually on the go. The Alexandria, Virginia resident is an avid traveler, a foodie, a tandem biker, a federal government worker who will soon resume her commute to Washington, DC—and someone who simply loves trying things and meeting people.
Valdez, who is blind, relies primarily on public transit to get to and fro. This typically means using a combination of a cane, muscle memory from previous trips, and asking other people for help.
She now has a new tool in her arsenal: Waymap, a navigation app designed for people with vision impairments. The app just launched across the entire service area of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, or Metro, which encompasses 98 rail stations, more than 11,000 bus stops, and 325 bus routes.
“I have a very free spirit,” Valdez, 43, told Tech Brew. “So for me, being able to get up and go when I want, how I want, is exactly how I want to continue to live my life.”
Offline: Unlike many navigation apps, Waymap’s tech doesn’t rely on GPS or cell connectivity.
“We use something called inertial measurement sensors… which are built into all your smartphones nowadays,” CEO Celso Zuccollo explained.
These sensors track your phone’s movement and the app then feeds this data to AI-powered algorithms that estimate the user’s step length and step direction. Waymap’s “secret sauce,” Zuccollo said, is its proprietary algorithm, SmartStep, which promises to give users “turn-by-turn, step-by-step audio instructions with up to three feet of accuracy,” according to a news release.
“If we know where somebody is to a really high degree of accuracy, and we know how long their step is and in what direction,” Zuccollo said, “Hey ho, we can follow you around absolutely anywhere.”
The app (which is free to end users, while service providers like transit authorities pay fees) is available in numerous other locations, but this marks the first time the tech covers an entire transit system. Zuccollo hopes to expand Waymap, which has raised $10.75 million in funding, to other locations and use cases. The tech could be used, for example, to give more precise directions to users exiting transit stations or entering stadiums, museums or hospitals.
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“There’s a lot of applications beyond just accessibility, and I think the more we prove out those applications,” Zuccollo said, “the more we can invest in the core technology getting better and better and providing a better experience for those who need it most.”
Accessibility: Still, Waymap will remain focused on improving the public transit experience for the estimated 50 million people in the US who have some degree of vision loss and others with disabilities, Zuccollo said.
Valdez lost her vision in high school. She went on to become a teacher after pivoting from her plan to join the Marine Corps, and now works as a logistics management specialist for the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
“For me, trains and public transportation have always been a part of my life,” she said. “And so for me, becoming a blind person and having to rely on public transportation wasn’t much of a change. It was just learning how to do it safely using my white cane.”
With Waymap, she gets hyper-specific information that gives her more independence––and knowledge about her surroundings she otherwise wouldn’t have, like where nearby benches and trash cans are located.
“This app is for everyone…but because I happen to be a blind person,” Valdez said, “some of these little things that don’t mean anything to someone else mean a great deal to me.”