Hyundai Launches Navigation Tool for Visually Impaired

Hyundai Motor Group has created a new navigation tool to help people with visual impairment. 

The mobile-based app leverages computer vision for obstacle monitoring and hardware-free positioning, creating a handheld navigation guide that can be used to move around indoor and outdoor areas.

Hyundai has partnered with tech startups Mapxus and Ailytics to create the platform, with the former providing an indoor navigation solution using Wi-Fi fingerprinting technology and the latter providing a CCTV video analysis solution using computer vision technology. 

The app was also developed in partnership with SG Enable, Singapore’s agency for disability and inclusion, and the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH).

It’s currently being tested as part of a pilot program in Singapore’s Enabling Village, an “inclusive community space” created to test new technologies designed to integrate people with disabilities into city life. 

A general version of the navigation tool will be available for public use and can be downloaded by scanning a QR code. Over 10-weeks, study participants will test the app, sending their feedback and data for future iterations.

“SG Enable has worked with partners previously to catalyze social innovations at our award-winning Enabling Village, such as having Singapore’s first inclusive preschool and gym, with more of such facilities built across Singapore ever since,” said Ron Loh, SG Enable’s assistant chief executive. “We hope this assistive mobility solution will not only improve accessibility of persons with disabilities but also further drive social innovations in navigation so they can live more independently and better access opportunities to learn, work and play in an inclusive society.” 

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The Singapore pilot program marks the second phase of Hyundai’s Universal Mobility Project. The first phase saw the 2021 launch of EnableLA to improve transport options for people with wheelchair barriers in Los Angeles, California. Under EnableLA, Hyundai and Kia modified their Palisade and Telluride SUVs, respectively, to accommodate wheelchair users. 

“In order to realize a smart city where every citizen can enjoy the freedom of mobility, it is necessary to develop an end-to-end mobility solution that supports the entire movement process, from pre-boarding to post-boarding of a vehicle,” said Hyeyoung Kim, Hyundai’s vice president of smart city innovation. “To make fundamental changes that achieve our goal, it will take collaborative efforts across the entire ecosystem, including the public and private sectors, not just by a single company.”