The Community of Madrid extends the installation of the voice guidance system to all Metro Line 8 stations
The new tool is called NaviLens and can be downloaded onto any mobile phone or tablet in the language of your choice. The technology is designed specifically for passengers with visual or cognitive disabilities and tourists who are unfamiliar with the suburban network. It describes the location of lifts, entrances, halls, stairs and platforms, and provides information about possible incidents and train arrivals.
The Community of Madrid has extended the NaviLens voice guidance system to all stations on Metro line 8, to provide an easy, intuitive way for passengers with visual or cognitive disabilities and tourists who are unfamiliar with the location to get about on the underground network.
To access the tool, passengers just open the Metro app on their mobile phones or tablets to receive spoken information about their location and surroundings in the language of their choice. This is possible because the software almost instantly scans the codes installed for this purpose at distances of up to 15 metres, without users having to focus their device cameras.
Each code provides data about the passenger’s whereabouts and describes the location of lifts, entrances, halls, stairs and platforms. It also provides useful information such as the status of the stop, including lifts and stairs, possible incidents on the network and even train arrival times.
This technology gives passengers access to the same information displayed on the posters and signs posted in different areas by the railway company.
It has been tested by blind, partially sighted and cognitively impaired people in collaboration with organisations with which the underground works regularly on accessibility issues. The findings of this work have been used to improve the application and adapt it to the specific characteristics of the Metro network.
In addition to carrying out the works of the new Accessibility and Inclusion Plan 2021-2028, which will increase the number of accessible stations in its network from the current 70% to 84%, the Community of Madrid, through Metro de Madrid, relies constantly on innovation and technology to be able to implement new tools such as this one.
Gracias a esta tecnología, estos viajeros pueden disponer de la misma información que ofrecen los carteles y señales colocados en los diferentes espacios de la compañía ferroviaria.
Este sistema ha sido probado previamente por personas ciegas, con restos de visión y discapacidad cognitiva, en colaboración con entidades con las que el suburbano trabaja habitualmente en materia de accesibilidad. Gracias a estos análisis, la aplicación ha podido ser mejorada y adaptada a las particularidades de la red.
La Comunidad de Madrid, a través de Metro, además de llevar a cabo las obras del nuevo Plan de Accesibilidad e Inclusión 2021-2028, que permitirá aumentar las estaciones accesibles de su red del 70% actual a un 84%, se apoya de manera constante en la innovación y la tecnología para poder poner en marcha nuevas herramientas como esta.
