MWCapital presents the first sensorised shopping centre for visually impaired people

• The solution created by Wayfindr and ILUNION Tecnología y Accesibilidad offers an audio guide that allows visually-impaired visitors to navigate indoor public areas
• Merlin Propierties will be the first in Spain to implement this technology to make fully accessible Barcelona’s Las Arenas Shopping Centre

February 21, 2018

Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital) has presented the project to sensorise the Las Arenas Shopping Centre in Barcelona for visually impaired people. The initiative, signed between Merlin Properties and ILUNION Tecnología y Accesibilidad, will enable the installations of the shopping centre become fully accessible by the end of March 2018.

The solution created by Wayfindr and ILUNION Tecnología y Accesibilidad provides an audio guide to visually-impaired visitors that allows them to navigate indoor public areas thanks to audio instructions received on their smartphone. Jordi Arrufí, Director of d-LAB at MWCapital, explained that the programme “uses beacons installed in shops and other strategic points in the shopping centre that allow the person using it to be localised and send them messages to guide them on their route”. In this same sense, Óscar Mata, head of management of Merlin Properties, has pointed out that “in Merlin Properties we are very aware of accessibility and that is why we collaborate with various initiatives. In this case, we believe that it’s a real milestone to have in our portfolio, the first accessible shopping centre in Spain”.

For its part, David Zanoletty, head of Departamento de Tecnología Accesible e I+D in Fundación ONCE, has revealed “the success of this collaborative project which is now in its final phase of development and implementation. It’s a proof of how the design thought-out for all and the technology applied to universal accessibility allows a full inclusion not only for people with disability and their integrative character just because it can help other unions”.

This project is born from a pilot developed by d-LAB – the MWCapital digital transformation programme – ILUNION Tecnología y Accesibilidad, Wayfindr and the University of Oslo. The pilot test phase, developed in November 2017, also received the support of the Las Arenas Shopping Centre, the ONCE Foundation and GSMA. Following the success of the pilot test, involving 40 users selected by the ONCE Foundation and ONCE Cataluña, the Las Arenas Shopping Centre will be the first in Spain to implement this technology and become fully accessible. 

A challenge to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities

d-LAB launched three high-impact social challenges in 2017. The first centred on empowering people with disabilities using mobile and digital solutions. The challenge aimed to attract disruptive proposals that would have a positive impact on their lives. Wayfindr was among the winning proposals, as it fulfilled the aim of overcoming barriers faced by people with disabilities on an everyday basis.