The Jurong indoor map suggests barrier-free routes for the disabled and guides the blind with audio cues

SINGAPORE – Visitors to Jurong can now use an indoor mapping mobile app that guides users through a network of linked shopping malls and hospitals, including Jem and Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

Like an indoor version of Google Maps, the CitiGeni app suggests directions to stores or facilities within the mall and hospital network, highlighting the shortest paths and even barrier-free routes for users with disabilities.

The app also includes an alternate mode designed to assist visually impaired users, guiding them with audible beeps as they walk through the mall.

The free service, available on Android and iOS, which was released to the public on October 23, is part of a partnership between Hong Kong navigation technology startup Mapxus and the National University Health System (NUHS) to help users, especially those with disabilities, navigate indoors.

The CitiGeni app services will officially expand to Jem and other locations in January 2025.

Believed to be a first for Singapore, the app uses unique mapping technology to match Wi-Fi beacon codes to a map, simplifying indoor location mapping without the need for new hardware.

It is designed to guide users through different levels of an indoor location, unlike most navigation apps that can pinpoint a user’s location from a bird’s eye view, but not the exact floor in a building.

In Jurong East, for example, shopping centers such as Jem and Westgate, as well as the nearby hospitals, are connected by bridges with access points that may not be immediately obvious to first-time visitors.

The app will complement the work of hospital staff in escorting individuals between the hospitals’ facilities, NUHS Chief Operating Officer Ng Kian Swan said in response to queries from The Straits Times.

“The initial deployment will include public areas within the hospital that do not require registration, allowing easy access for all visitors,” said Mr Ng, adding that the service specifically targets wheelchair users and people who are blind.

“We are also evaluating the possibility of expanding coverage to (hospital wards) in the future to support even more comprehensive indoor navigation,” said Mr Ng, who oversees the healthcare group’s facilities management.

Founded in 2018, Mapxus is among the companies covered by the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s Spark program, which supports startups through industry connections or grants.

Mapxus’ technology, which has been used in transport networks and in more than 150 buildings in Hong Kong, was among the winners of the Jurong Lake District Innovation Challenge in 2023, where participating teams proposed urban solutions to challenges faced by hospitals and other stakeholders such as SMRT and CapitaLand.

Joseph Yi, the company’s head of business development, explained Mapxus’ technology, saying that the user’s position is determined through the phone, which detects the unique signals from Wi-Fi beacons within an indoor location.

The app does not require any login to the property’s Wi-Fi network and only collects non-sensitive data from the Wi-Fi beacon’s code and signal strength, which is cross-referenced with a blueprint of the property to track users’ locations. identify, said Mr. Yi, 39.