New App Helps Visually Impaired Travelers Navigate Airport

American Printing House for the Blind's "Nearby Explorer" app—a GPS-enabled mobile wayfinding service developed specifically for visually impaired users—has a brand-new feature to help blind travelers get around Louisville International Airport.

And the app's developers hope that's just the beginning. 

Dubbed "Indoor Explorer," the new tool uses Bluetooth connectivity, OpenStreetMap data, and more than 140 beacons inside the terminals to provide a detailed audio guide delivered via smartphone.

Helpful information about a user's immediate surroundings complements interactive, step-by-step directions to ticket counters, gates, and points of interest like shops and restaurants along the way.


Developers would like to see the service expanded to other locations beyond Louisville so that travelers with visual impairments don't have to rely on other passengers or airport staff, who aren't always easy to find.

Indoor Explorer is currently available on iOS devices only. It's free with Nearby Explorer, which can be downloaded from the App Store for $79.99.