San Francisco Airport Tests Beacons for Blind Travelers

San Francisco International Airport is testing a new location-tracking system that could be used to help visually impaired travelers make their way from curbside to gate. The system—designed and installed by startup Indoo.rs (pronounced Indoors), with help from one of its partners, StickNFind Technologies—leverages Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, a mobile phone application and Apple iPhone's accessibility features and Voiceover technology. It was initially developed as part of the San Francisco Entrepreneurship-in-Residence program, launched in March by San Francisco's mayor, Edwin M. Lee, to explore innovative solutions to civic challenges.

BLE-enabled beacons are designed to transmit unique ID numbers that trigger actions on smartphones or other BLE-enabled devices. Work on the airport project began in April, and the first iteration was completed in July. In the San Francisco International Airport's Terminal 2, nearly 500 StickNFind BLE beacons have been affixed to walls, ceilings and pillars, typically above eye level and out of reach, and made to match the color of what they are on, explains Markus Krainz, Indoo.rs' CTO. The StickNFind beacons, which were developed per engineering specifications determined by Indoo.rs' engineers, are approximately the size and thickness of a bottle cap, and come with batteries that can last about four years.

Nearly 500 StickNFind BLE beacons were affixed to walls, ceilings and pillars in the San Francisco International Airport's Terminal 2.