NaviLens, an orientation system for people with disability on the metro and bus

TMB implements NaviLens intelligent tags, to make signalling and information on the metro and bus service available to people with visual impairment, by the app reading on the mobile device.

The deployment of the implementation began in 2019. The system currently operates on the entire bus network and at  all stations on the metro network. 

As a result of the Navilens technology, people with visual impairment can read the signage of the public transport networks, both at bus stops and metro stations, and receive accurate guidance through their mobile devices.

This system can efficiently capture a new type of QR color codes, called ddTags, so that people with visual disability can read the information contained in this code, without having to know exactly where they are.

At a bus stop, the NaviLens application reads the tag and provides information on the name and code of the stop, the bus routes and destination of each one, the expected time of arrival and any possible disruptions to the service. At a metro station, each area is tagged with a description (access, hall, ticket office, passenger line, stairway, elevator, platform, boarding point...), in order to enable autonomous navigation of people with visual capacity, both at the entrance and exit. This is possible because ddTags can read when moving, at a much higher distance and with a more angular perspective than QR codes, without having to focus the camera of the mobile device.

• Download the Navilens app on Apple Store
• Download the Navilens app on Google Play

NaviLens technology has been implemented as a result of successful pilot tests carried out at Fira and Espanya metro stations in February 2018.

This project forms part of the TMB universal accessibility Master Plan, which has enabled the introduction of measures to facilitate the mobility of blind people.