[Trainer-Talk] Press Release: Goodmaps Announces Breakthrough Indoor Positioning Technology to Power Accessible Navigation App Location

[David Goldfield]

  GOODMAPS ANNOUNCES BREAKTHROUGH INDOOR POSITIONING TECHNOLOGY TO POWER
  ACCESSIBLE NAVIGATION APPLICATION

POSTED ON:September 14, 2020 
<https://www.goodmaps.com/2020/09/14/goodmaps-announces-breakthrough-indoor-positioning-technology-to-power-accessible-navigation-application/>WRITTEN 
BY:Kim Casey <https://www.goodmaps.com/author/kim/>COMMENTS:0 
<https://www.goodmaps.com/2020/09/14/goodmaps-announces-breakthrough-indoor-positioning-technology-to-power-accessible-navigation-application/#comments>CATEGORIZED 
IN:GoodMaps app 
<https://www.goodmaps.com/category/goodmaps-app/>,Product Release 
<https://www.goodmaps.com/category/product-release/>TAGGED AS:accessible 
wayfinding <https://www.goodmaps.com/tag/accessible-wayfinding/>digital 
maps <https://www.goodmaps.com/tag/digital-maps/>positioning accuracy 
<https://www.goodmaps.com/tag/positioning-accuracy/>

GoodMaps is proud to announce the release ofGoodMaps Explore 
<https://www.goodmaps.com/goodmaps-explore-app/>for iOS, with an Android 
version coming soon. GoodMaps Explore is an accessible wayfinding app 
designed primarily for people who are blind or visually impaired, which 
sets a new standard for indoor navigation across the globe. GoodMaps 
Explore uses audio instructions to communicate routing and critical 
spatial information as users move through a space, whether indoors or 
outdoors, drawing upon GoodMaps’ state-of-the-art digital maps.  In 
doing so, GoodMaps has solved four problems that have frustrated the 
field for several decades by:

 1. delivering superior positioning accuracy with minimal infrastructure,
 2. dramatically speeding the process to digitally map a building, which
    provides the foundation for the app,
 3. creating a way for building owners to securely control their mapping
    data, and
 4. providing the public with a complete package of maps with an app to
    actually use them.

José Gaztambide <https://www.goodmaps.com/jose-gaztambide/>, Founder and 
CEO of GoodMaps, reflects, “We are thrilled to release this app and find 
from its early reviews such a positive response, as we are mindful of 
all the work that’s come before us.  From the start, we have been 
determined to truly listen to people who are blind or visually impaired 
and create technology that would offer them, and all of us, the ability 
to navigate space better than ever before.”

“As an active blind traveler and technologist, I have been working for 
25 years with like-minded colleagues toward the goal of free ubiquitous 
accessible navigation for all,” reflectsMike May 
<https://www.goodmaps.com/mike-may/>, Chief Evangelist at GoodMaps. 
“Thousands of users and competitive products have contributed to the 
Explore app, which is a major step along the road to independence. I 
can’t wait for the next version and more mapped indoor spaces as 
GoodMaps continues to improve accessible navigation for everyone 
including navigating in our new physical distancing environment”.


    Superior Accuracy with Simple Infrastructure

GoodMaps Explore indoor navigation app in an airport

Whereas indoor navigation technology in the past has been inaccurate and 
relied on expensive, burdensome infrastructure, GoodMaps Explore draws 
upon camera-based positioning (CPS). CPS utilizes sensors and a device’s 
camera to achieve superior accuracy, with average accuracy of 1.5 meters 
(~5 feet) or less – all through minimal hardware to install and maintain.

“For years, our field has been experimenting with wayfinding solutions 
that rely on Bluetooth beacons,” says Craig Meador, President of 
theAmerican Printing House for the Blind <https://www.aph.org/>(APH). 
“The reality is that the use of beacons was limited.  Users experienced 
poor accuracy, interference issues, and often had to rely on other 
sources to navigate the final 15 feet.  With GoodMaps’ breakthrough, 
we’re able to solve these issues and drastically improve the reliability 
of accessible navigation.”

The key to this advancement is GoodMaps’ revolutionary indoor 
positioning system, which combines Augmented Reality and sensors on a 
device with a new system developed byFantasmo 
<https://www.fantasmo.io/>, a GoodMaps partner. This system delivers 
accurate indoor location without the use of cumbersome beacons or other 
similar hardware. The result is a trusted and reliable wayfinding 
experience for people who are blind, with virtually no infrastructure to 
install and maintain.


    Significant Gains in Efficiency

GoodMaps Studio screenshot

GoodMaps is powered by its new LiDAR-based mapping platform,GoodMaps 
Studio <https://www.goodmaps.com/platform/>. The company creates maps by 
using mobile LiDAR scanners, which quickly produce digital 
representations of the space.

“LiDAR scanners emit thousands of pulses of laser light every second,” 
explains Ed Scott, CTO of GoodMaps. “We are able to use those pulses to 
measure distance and create a digital representation of the space. This 
has allowed us to drastically reduce the time it takes to create a map 
of the space, which has been a major barrier to indoor mapping.  We can 
map a building in an hour that required multiple days in old approaches.”

“This major gain in efficiency, and a focus on multiple uses for this 
technology, means the field can finally take indoor navigation to scale, 
a goal that the market has long made elusive for people who are blind or 
visually impaired,” remarks Gaztambide.

Anne Durham, Chief Officer of Innovation and Strategy at APH, comments 
“We have known for years that accessible indoor navigation would not be 
possible without accurate maps of indoor locations. With these gains in 
efficiency, we feel that the time to map the largest unmapped territory 
in the world – the indoors – is now at hand.”


    New, Secure Control

GoodMaps’ technology offers building owners the ability to decide who 
sees what parts of their building – a key security feature lacking to 
date in the field, preventing others’ technology from being scaled.

“We heard from building managers that data security was imperative to 
usability. No one wants their data falling into the wrong hands,” says 
Gaztambide. “That is why GoodMaps is built on layers of role-based 
permissions. What your guests, your engineers, and your staff see are 
all different, manageable, and customizable.”


    A Complete Package

Explore app user navigating indoors

While some indoor navigation companies offer apps but no maps, and 
others offer maps but no apps, GoodMaps offers both – maps with apps.  
This provides a seamless, high-quality package that gets users where 
they want to go unlike any other technology.

“We know that maps are a means to an end, not the end itself,” remarks 
Gaztambide. “Explore is an important step in bringing those maps to 
life. We are excited to continue developing tools that fully leverage 
our mapping technology.”

GoodMaps Explore is currently available on the Apple App Store and will 
be available on Android devices later this year.  Founded in 2019 and an 
affiliate of the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), GoodMaps 
(formerly Access Explorer 
<https://www.goodmaps.com/2020/08/01/access-explorer-rebrands-to-goodmaps-and-embarks-to-map-the-largest-unmapped-territory-in-the-world-the-indoors/>) 
is a Louisville-based social enterprise dedicated to making buildings 
more accessible, safe, and productive through the use of digital indoor 
maps. For more information, go to theGoodMaps Website 
<http://goodmaps.com/>orContact Us <https://www.goodmaps.com/contact-us/>.

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-- 
David Goldfield,
Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist
JAWS Certified, 2019

WWW.DavidGoldfield.org