USD Pioneers Indoor Navigation System for the Visually Impaired

Engineering students partner with local blind community to address important need

Ronald Peterson stands just inside the south entrance of the Belanich Engineering Center at the University of San Diego (USD). In his right hand, Peterson carries his white cane — a mobility tool for the blind and visually impaired. In his left hand, he holds his smartphone. 

Peterson opens the application, “RightHear,” and in real time, the navigation tool begins interpreting the space aloud. “Welcome to the Belanich Engineering Center,” the audio relays. “You are in the main lobby. As you stand near the doors facing north, to the west on your left is a seating area. To the east on your right is the machine shop. Walk 12 steps to the elevator on your right or walk 15 steps to the east end of the main hallway.”

Peterson is a community partner who has been volunteering to help with a student-led project focused on equipping the building, home of USD’s Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, with an indoor navigation system for the blind. It’s the first known building in San Diego County to use this specific assistive technology — technology used by individuals with disabilities in order to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible.  

“Indoor navigation is one important aspect of assistive technology for the blind,” said Peterson, who is visually impaired. 

USD community partner Ronald Peterson uses the new indoor navigation system inside the Belanich Engineering Center to negotiate his way through the building. 

The importance of the technology can not be overstated — it’s vital because it provides both general information on surroundings and also real-time navigation. 

“The white cane and the guide dog don’t tell you where to go, they just help you avoid obstacles along the way,” Peterson said. “This building is great for this new technology because many blind community partners come here to work on projects.” 

The community partnership originated during the Spring 2024 semester in Engineering 103 - User Centered Design, an interdisciplinary apprenticeship-style course taught by Odesma Dalrymple, PhD, associate professor and director of the Engineering Exchange for Social Justice. Each semester, since Fall 2018, the class focuses on working with members and allies of the blind and low vision community to develop concepts for assistive technology.

The students work in lockstep with the community partners — local volunteers — to address their specific needs. 

“This work cannot be done without the ongoing involvement of the community,” said Dalrymple. “Every step of the way needs to be a true partnership.” 

Associate Professor Odesma Dalrymple, PhD, talks to community partners. 

Second-year Electrical Engineering student Juan Carlos Avila served as student-leader. The goal was to install and successfully implement five beacons throughout the building that effectively communicate with the RightHear app and make the space easily navigable for those with vision impairments. 

The project continued in the summer and was supported with funding from the National Science Foundation’s Anchor STEM Program, an initiative that provides opportunities for students looking to pursue STEM pathways in higher education. First-year mechanical engineering students Amy Perez and Guadalupe Santana joined Avila to complete the project. 

“The solution was already there,” said Avila. “But we needed to use our engineering design skills to figure out how to implement the tech. We needed to work with the community partners to learn about the blind community and we had to make this technology efficient for them. It was a lot of trial and error.” 

By working with members of San Diego’s blind community, the students were able to build both empathy and professional agency for a project that has real-world applications. The vision of the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering is to create compassionate citizens and ethical leaders who can address social and racial injustice.

The project naturally fit this vision for the young students. 

“There is a lot of empathetic emotions in this work,” said Santana. “Personally, I knew blind people needed to go through a lot in their daily lives but being involved in this project made me realize that there isn’t much help. Being able to install this indoor navigation for them is impactful because it can naturally help them without depending on someone or something else.” 

Engineering students Guadalupe Santana, from left, Juan Carlos Avila and Amy Perez worked throughout the summer with community partners to implement assisitive technology inside the Belanich Engineering Center. 

“For every design challenge, we say that we want to create something that is useful and relevant,” said Dalrymple. “To me, that’s the true litmus test … is it useful and relevant?” 

The overwhelming support and dedication of the community partners, some who travel from far corners of the county on a consistent basis, proves that the work is important.

“For me, it’s how invested they are and how much they really see it as integral,” Dalrymple said. “One of our partners suffered a mild stroke one week and the next week she was back in the classroom. For her, the work being done and connection to the students was so important, the minute she got the all clear from her doctor, she was back here.” 

Volunteering has been incredibly satisfying for Peterson. 

“There are so many good things happening here,” Peterson said. “The students are learning how to be engineers, the building now has an indoor navigation system that can help those who are blind and I feel so good volunteering.” 

For all involved, this is hopefully just the beginning. There are dozens of buildings in the county that could utilize this assistive technology, including colleges, government buildings, pharmacies and doctors offices. Ideally, USD would become a leader and a model in this space, said Dalrymple. 

“There needs to be a plurality of solutions. By demonstrating the success of this particular solution and effectiveness of the co-development approach with the community, the more we can entice others to participate in community-engaged engineering around assistive technology, promoting a more inclusive society where all can contribute and thrive,” she said.  

— Story and photos by Matthew Piechalak