Navigation app for visually impaired people expanded to 15 new transport locations

SINGAPORE – Mr Josh Tseng, who has less than 5 per cent vision in both eyes, said many people who are visually impaired choose not to leave their homes often because they fear getting lost or having to rely on others.

Added the 29-year-old, who runs a media and technology consulting company: “And it gets worse as you age, especially with age-related disabilities.”

Seeking to address this is Waymap-SG, a navigation app developed for visually impaired public transport users. It uses audio instructions to guide users through transport locations in Singapore.

Following the app’s 2023 trial at Tampines Bus Interchange and Tampines MRT station on the Downtown Line in collaboration with public transport operator SBS Transit, it has since been expanded to include 15 other transport locations in Singapore, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said earlier in May.

These include Yishun Integrated Transport Hub and Marina Bay MRT station, as well as Dhoby Ghaut and Outram Park MRT stations – both busy three-line interchanges with multiple levels, platforms, exits and connecting services.

Waymap-SG provides step-by-step audio navigation in MRT stations and bus interchanges.

App users may be prompted to take photos of their surroundings and a visual positioning system (VPS) will determine their starting location.

They can select their destination from pre-mapped points on the app.

The app will then guide them along accessible routes, for example, by avoiding stairs if needed, with clear prompts at key points, such as turns, escalators, lifts and exits.

Unlike traditional navigation apps that rely on the Global Positioning System and mobile signals, Waymap-SG works indoors and underground using standard smartphone sensors and does not require an internet connection.

These sensors include the accelerometer (measures acceleration), gyroscope (measures orientation), magnetometer (senses strength of magnetic fields) and barometer (tracks atmospheric pressure), combined with digital maps embedded in the app.

It also uses an artificial intelligence-powered algorithm that analyses the number of steps taken per minute, stride length, and the direction and acceleration of the user, gradually learning each user’s gait so that navigation becomes more accurate with every use.

Before going live at a venue, UK-based Waymap maps all the key facilities, such as train platforms, escalators and lifts.

During the 2023 trial, Waymap began working with beneficiaries of the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) and Guide Dogs Singapore, a charity for the blind and visually impaired, to test and give feedback on the app.

The most recent round of testing started in December 2025 and involved 12 beneficiaries, whose vision ranges from moderate to no light perception.

LTA said that since 2023, several features were refined based on user feedback, including improving the VPS, making navigation routes more intuitive, and improving the clarity and timing of audio prompts.

Waymap also fixed location inaccuracies caused by rapid phone movements and during navigation of gentle turns.

Other improvements include clearer instructions on which side of the lift the buttons are located and the simplification of instructions.

In selecting the 15 new locations, LTA considered factors such as geographical spread, coverage across different transport locations, and the opportunity to test the solution in a variety of environments, including more complex layouts and interchange transfers.

Some of these environments are busy and especially challenging for those who are visually impaired, particularly multi-level spaces with many exits, platforms and connecting services, where taking a wrong turn can be disorienting.

The app does not require any additional physical infrastructure to be installed within the station or interchange.

Mr Tseng, an executive committee board member of SAVH from 2022 to 2025, said those who tested the app are enthusiastic and hopeful. He was the lead tester for Waymap-SG’s 2023 trial at Tampines MRT station and Tampines Bus Interchange.

“If something like this can exist, it gives people with vision impairment an opportunity to be outside and explore the world, and be a part of society.”

Guide Dogs Singapore said that because there is no universal wayfinding application in Singapore now, there is hope that Waymap might meet the unique needs within the visually impaired community.

Ms Aisyah Abu Bakar, a Guide Dogs Singapore client who suffers from total vision loss, said: “I believe that with continued improvements, Waymap will become an essential tool that changes the way visually impaired users experience public transport and shared spaces.”

Mr Celso Zuccollo, chief executive of Waymap, said: “Our ambition is to map Singapore’s entire built environment, so that any person, regardless of ability, can move through this city independently and with confidence.”

Waymap has been steadily expanding its app to include more venues around the world.

In 2025, Waymap went live across Washington’s public transport system, Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, and bus routes and stations in Austin, Texas. In 2026, it expanded to the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, and Bullring, a shopping mall in Birmingham.

Waymap also worked with the National Library Board to make the app available at Punggol Regional Library in Singapore, allowing users to navigate within the building.

Said Mr Tseng: “It gives us people with vision impairment the opportunity to venture outside by ourselves. It gives us dignity.”