hearow

What it does

hearow is a navigation app for blind and visually impaired people to help find destinations easier. It gives users the opportunity to calibrate their stride length, so instructions are given in steps instead of meters for easier usage in their day-to-day life.

Your inspiration

Due to friends and family members who are affected by visual impairments, we became aware, that there are no satisfying solutions on the market so far, as these are either inaccurate or involve the purchase of expensive gadgets. We couldn't believe that in a high-tech age like ours, there was no adequate solution, which is why we decided to dedicate our master's project to this topic.

How it works

To calibrate the personal stride length, the user walks at a normal pace on a straight route until the music stops and the calibration is complete. Based on the outcome, the system calculates the average stride length, which is then incorporated into the navigation.

Design process

Based on the simple idea of a gps app explicitly for pedestrians that are visually impaired or blind, we decided to start our research for the demand of such an app. Realizing, the app could have potential on the market, we started gathering ideas for features and adjusting current app input for our specific target group. After collecting ideas and knowledge we started with a paper wireframe, continued with a digital wireframe and after testing those, we continued with developing an MVP. Soon we figured, it would be smart to get to know the Voice over functionality our target group often uses. Therefore we decided to dive into the topic and get some help from our testing people. During the first testing phase, we designed an UI, that should be simple and adjusted to different visual impairments. After bringing the design into the developed MVP, we continued testing the app with not impaired people and with people specifically from our target group. Due to our testing, we figured out to change up some ideas, to be more precise for different components, from the app. As an example, overlays with swipe up functionality are very hard to use for visually impaired, therefore using side to side swipers are easier, especially for Voice over users.

How it is different

hearow offers intuitive and customized navigation thanks to the indication of distances in steps instead of meters. This is due to the fact, that users have the option of calibrating their own individual stride length, which makes it easier to understand distances and thus increasing the safety of users. In addition navigation is supported by a variety of audio signals. hearow also impresses with its ease of use and full voice over compatibility. It is a matter of principle for us that the application meets all accessibility standards. hearow is committed to the motto: “As much as necessary, but as little as possible” in order to meet user's needs precisely and efficiently.

Future plans

With hearow, we are pursuing the goal of building a scalable and sustainable company that will revolutionize the mobility of blind and visually impaired people in the long term. The app is currently in the testing and optimization phase, in which it will be further developed and the navigation further improved. The aim is to ensure the user-friendliness and reliability of the app. At the same time, the focus is on building strategic partnerships with associations for the blind and other organizations.

Awards