Inclusive Way Finding Hackathon

The Inclusive Wayfinding Design Hackathon was a collaboration between Sensing Local and the Centre for Accessibility in the Global South (CAGS) at IIIT Bangalore. Product designers, engineers, software professionals, architects, etc, including those with and without visual impairments, came together to co-create solutions for wayfinding signage for people with vision impairments. The hackathon was split into three parts – EXPLORE, EXCHANGE & BUILD – and took place  between 26th November and 10th December, 2022. The objective was to design a signage system to aid navigation of the metro station and to make the historical information and archival material installed in the metro stations  accessible. The participants tried to understand how people who are blind and visually impaired navigate urban spaces in their everyday lives, and took on the challenge of creating a tactile vocabulary for conveying information in tactile forms. They also explored the possibilities offered by multi-sensory systems for indoor navigation.  The final solutions will be implemented at the K R Market metro station, showcasing the history of the Bengaluru Fort area across 5 centuries.