Image of a person's hand holding a smartphone. On the screen of the smartphone is a digital map.

About the Project

Wayfinding refers to information and communication systems that guide people through physical environments and enhance their understanding and experience of the space. Traditional wayfinding approaches may include elements such as signage or lighting. While these physical or architectural elements are important to meet the needs of people with disabilities, the emergence of innovative wayfinding technologies offers a new solution to supporting safe and accessible navigation through environments.

The objective of this project is to understand barriers and facilitators to the use of current wayfinding technologies available for people with disabilities. Our goal is to generate a set of recommendations for the inclusion of wayfinding technologies in Canadian accessibility standards.

Project Aims

Aim 1: Rapid literature review and environmental scan of current practices

We will conduct a rapid literature review of academic literature to summarize current wayfinding technologies. We will also complete an environmental scan of national and international standards that incorporate aspects of wayfinding technologies

Aim 2: Understanding user-perspectives related to wayfinding technologies

While wayfinding technologies may be commercially available, the value of such technologies for end-users with disabilities is not currently understood. To better understand user perspectives related to the use or implementation of wayfinding technologies, a survey including people with disabilities will be conducted. This survey will allow us to gather feedback on features of wayfinding technologies that may be suited to standardization.

Aim 3: Development of a set of recommendations for the standardization of wayfinding technologies

We will develop a summary of recommendations for future standard-based solutions related to wayfinding technologies. It is our goal that the recommendations we generate will serve to remove current barriers to the accessibility of public spaces and prevent future wayfinding-related barriers.