An iOS app for the Visually Impaired

Abstract

Have you ever gotten lost in the MTR stations and cannot find the ways to your destinations? I guess most of the people will say 'No' because there are already plenty of signs and instructions. They can simply follow those and reach the exits within few minutes. However, what if visually impaired people get lost? The only method for them is to follow the tactile guide paths built in the stations, but they have no idea about their current locations and the exits that they are approaching. According to the data collected by Census and Statistics Department, in Hong Kong, the number of visually impaired accounts for 2.4% of the total population in 2015. In fact, 2.4% is not an ignorable proportion. Therefore, after discussed with the Hong Kong Blind Union, I decided to design an iOS app using Swift language. It aims at helping the visually impaired to recognize their current locations and find the shortest paths towards their desired destinations. This is done by identifying the escalators that they have taken. And then, by selecting the exits that they would like to go, routes towards those exits will be displayed. This reduces the time for them to hover around in the concourse.