This app is helping blind people navigate the world

The Euston tube station is one of the busiest subway stops in the London Underground. Millions of people travel through it every year, and those who are visually impaired are guided by transit workers who guide walk with them down escalators and through crowded passageways to the stop's six platforms.

Starting in January 2016, however, a pair of earbuds and a smartphone will be all someone with a seeing disability needs to navigate the Euston station on their own. 

By using Bluetooth-equipped beacons and an app, a new company called Wayfindr hopes to not only be the eyes for the visually impaired traveling through the Euston stop, but for those who need aid in getting through the transportation hubs, public spaces, and retail stores around the world.

Wayfindr is a not-for-profit joint venture between the design studio Ustwo and the Royal London Society for Blind People's Youth Forum. The technology has been in testing at London's Pimlico station for the past several months, and now it's received a $1 million grant from Google.org to ramp up its efforts at the Euston station and beyond.

In an interview with Tech Insider, Wayfindr CEO Umesh Pandya explained how the technology works. When a smartphone with the prototype Wayfindr app installed passes a Bluetooth beacon, the beacon sends a signal that the app interprets as an instruction, like “turn right here” or the “escalator is ending soon."

The end goal is for the blind to feel like they have "training wheels for a new environment," explained Pandya. It's not meant to replace seeing eye dogs and London Underground workers, but to help the blind be more independent in how they navigate.

According to Pandya, most participants in the Pimlico station trial only needed the app for between five and 10 trips before they could navigate on their own. 

"We don’t want people being chained to their phone listening to every instruction it gives them," he said.

Wayfindr is an open standard, which means it can be integrated into any app or institution willing to follow its guidelines. That means apps like Google Maps, hospitals, and big stores like Target could support it one day.

"It’s tech for all," Pandya said. "It’s inclusive for all.”