Navigating the Future of Wayfinding with Intel
In a recent episode of Double Tap dated 13th September, Steven and Shaun spoke with Darryl Adams, Director of Accessibility at Intel, about Intel’s work in wayfinding. The conversation covered how Intel, in collaboration with GoodMaps, is helping improve indoor navigation for people who are blind or visually impaired.
The Challenge of Navigation
Mobility is a significant challenge for many in the blind and visually impaired community, and Darryl, who has retinitis pigmentosa (RP) like Shaun, shared how navigating large spaces can be difficult. Whether it’s Intel’s large campuses or other complex indoor environments like shopping malls, knowing exactly where you are with confidence can be a daily struggle.
Darryl explained, “It’s really hard to navigate our campuses. We’ve got these large buildings… every floor is very similar to the floor next to it… How do you really know where you are with confidence?”
While GPS works well outdoors, it often struggles indoors, where walls and other barriers block satellite signals. This presented an opportunity for Intel to find new solutions to address these challenges.
Intel’s Vision: A Wayfinding Solution
Intel’s journey into wayfinding began with an internal project to make their workplaces more accessible. After conducting research with their employees, they identified the need for a reliable navigation solution. Leveraging their experience with autonomous robots and LiDAR technology, Intel realized they could use these same high-resolution mapping techniques to assist people with vision impairments.
“We were doing a bunch of work with autonomous robots… using LiDAR as a technology to basically map indoor spaces so the robots really understand where they are,” Darryl said. They realized this technology could be applied to help people navigate those same environments.
Partnering with GoodMaps
A key part of Intel’s approach has been working with GoodMaps, a company with a similar vision for accessible wayfinding. GoodMaps uses LiDAR technology to scan and create detailed 3D point clouds of indoor environments. This mapping process captures distances and structures in intricate detail, making it easier to navigate spaces like shopping malls or corporate buildings.
Darryl described how GoodMaps works: “They walk the space with a LiDAR scanner… you capture all of that into a digital file. And then that’s the foundation of that indoor map.”
One of the main advantages of this technology is that it doesn’t rely on traditional hardware like beacons. “The idea of being able to do indoor mapping in a way that doesn’t require infrastructure is pretty attractive,” Darryl noted.
The Role of LiDAR in Navigation
LiDAR, a technology now available on some smartphones, is central to Intel and GoodMaps’ solution. By scanning indoor spaces, LiDAR provides highly accurate data that can guide users with visual impairments to their destination without relying on physical infrastructure. This approach also opens up the possibility for future crowd-sourcing, where the community could help map frequently visited locations.
Darryl was enthusiastic about this potential: “I would love to see that future where… there’s a crowdsource component… my wife could even go and scan the place that we go most frequently so that I have [the map].”
A Promising Future for Accessibility
Intel isn’t just focused on wayfinding. Darryl emphasized the broader role Intel plays in shaping the future of technology accessibility. From creating more inclusive digital environments to influencing hardware that supports accessibility at its core, Intel is committed to ensuring that future technologies adapt to users’ needs.
“We’re creating the future of technology. And how do we make sure that future is more inclusive and more accessible to more people?” Darryl said, stressing that accessibility must be built into the foundation of new technologies.
The endgame for Intel, as Darryl explained, is not to become a wayfinding company but to support the development of the underlying technologies: “We’re not going to be in the wayfinding business ourselves, but to the extent that we can enable a faster, more effective scale-up of that solution, then it’s a win for Intel.”
The Future of Wayfinding Looks Promising
The conversation with Darryl Adams provided a clear view of how companies like Intel are working to make indoor navigation more accessible. With collaborations like the one with GoodMaps, the future of wayfinding looks promising.
Darryl concluded, “We haven’t solved these things… but we’re making really good progress. The next couple of years are going to be really, really interesting to see how this stuff all integrates.”