For the first time, Disability expos around the country will be totally accessible to people with vision impairment thanks to a partnership between wayfinding and navigation company BindiMaps and expo organisers Social Impact Institute.
Australian startup BindiMaps revolutionises the way people who are blind or vision impaired experience extensive, highly complex pop-up spaces like expos. The BindiMaps app is ideal for spaces where GPS doesn’t work, facilitating simple navigation in indoor spaces via simple audio directions. With this tool, people feel more confident and empowered to find the essential service providers, agencies and products of their choice.
Inside the expo, BindiMaps will provide accurate navigation and guidance to all individual exhibitor booths in the space, as well as to bathrooms, information desks, registration, food outlets and other locations.
And for the first time, BindiMaps will include accurate navigation from car parks outside of venues and from their nearest public transport hubs, making it possible for expo visitors to search for their favourite exhibitor as they get off the train and go straight there.
Visitors without vision impairment will also have the benefit of new features specifically designed for them. BindiMaps makes it easier for everyone, whether they prefer audio or map-based instructions. Everyone gets the full expo experience.
Social Impact Institute disability expos in NSW, Queensland and Victoria will be mapped by BindiMaps, so that everyone can find their way to any of the hundreds of individual expo booths in each expo. The first expo in the new partnership will be in Newcastle on May 21-22.
Founder and CEO of BindiMaps Dr Anna Wright says that she is proud to be working with Social Impact Institute and providing this crucial inclusive service to all their expos.
“Before BindiMaps, a person with vision impairment would need significant help from others to do something most of us take for granted, such as visiting an expo and finding out about products and services that would be of benefit to them. But now, even someone whose sight is very limited or non-existent can find their way around an unfamiliar space much more independently.
“We are so pleased that the Social Impact Institute’s disability expos are the latest in our nation-wide rollout of expos, shopping centres, educational institutions and other public buildings,” says Dr Wright.
“BindiMaps provides a unique service that makes our expos safer, more productive, more enjoyable experiences for people seeking the best disability services,” says Social Impact Institute’s Kathryn Carey, responsible for rolling out Australia-wide disability expos.
Get BindiMaps on your smartphone at
- Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/bindimaps/id1435118854
- Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bindimaps
The disability expos that will be mapped by BindiMaps include:
- Hunter Disability Expo, Newcastle NSW May 21st-22nd
- Gold Coast Disability Expo, Queensland, June 15th-16th
- Sydney Disability Expo, NSW, August 6th-7th
- Nepean Disability Expo, Penrith NSW, September 17th-18th
- Brisbane Disability Expo, Queensland, October 15th-16th
- Melbourne Disability Expo, November 19th-20th
For media and product enquiries:
Tony Burrett: Chief Product Officer | BindiMaps Pty Ltd
[email protected] | 0424 201 554
About Social Impact Institute
Social Impact Institute‘s series of expos across Australia bring together seniors and people with a disability with product and service providers, government agencies and advocacy groups. We are proud that our expos have enabled thousands of Australian people living with disability to gain greater control over their lives and the services and products they need to live their lives to their fullest.
About BindiMaps
BindiMaps is an Australian startup that provides indoor navigation where GPS doesn’t work well, via a mobile app that is optimised for the those who are blind or vision impaired. Our technology locates users in indoor spaces and then uses common sense everyday language to guide them to their destination, whether that is the duty-free store at a major international airport, or the hairdresser at the megamall.