GoodMaps — Camera-Based Indoor Wayfinding for Blind and Low-Vision Travelers

GoodMaps was founded in 2019 as a standalone spinoff of the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), the Louisville, Kentucky nonprofit founded in 1858 that has long produced materials for blind and low-vision people. Instead of Bluetooth beacons or GPS, which perform poorly indoors, GoodMaps uses camera-based computer-vision positioning, developed in partnership with Intel, to deliver turn-by-turn voice directions through a smartphone app across airports, transit stations, campuses, schools and museums.

Between January 2023 and its most recent research cycle, GoodMaps tested its app with nearly 200 users across five North American cities — Seattle, Louisville, New York City, Austin and Ottawa — including 75 people who are blind or have low vision, 8 who are D/deaf or hard of hearing, 10 wheelchair users, 5 with reduced mobility and 14 neurodiverse participants. Findings have been published across four peer-reviewed venues: HCII 2023, AHFE 2024, HCII 2025 and EdMedia+ 2025.

Deployment has quadrupled since January 2025: by 2025-2026 the platform was live at more than 35 airports across 8 countries and 15 US states, including the Gerald R. Ford International Airport and the USD 1 billion Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport modernisation.

As a still-growing deployment, long-term outcome data — such as changes in independent-travel frequency over years — is not yet available; the published studies to date focus on usability and short-term wayfinding performance rather than longitudinal life-outcome evidence.