Pedestrian Navigation

Pedestrian navigation refers to wayfinding and route-following on foot in outdoor environments, including sidewalks, crosswalks, public transit access points, and shared streets. For blind and low vision users, people with cognitive disabilities, and wheelchair users, the accessibility of pedestrian navigation depends on factors that vehicle navigation systems generally ignore: curb cuts, accessible pedestrian signals, tactile paving, surface quality, obstacle clutter, and the predictability of traffic behavior. Assistive pedestrian navigation tools range from infrastructure-based systems using BLE beacons or RFID to software-only smartphone apps that combine GPS, computer vision, and audio or haptic feedback. Tools designed in structured Western contexts often fail in unstructured environments where crosswalks, lane markings, and signal compliance are inconsistent, which is a particular concern in Global South cities.