Wayfindr Technology Plans for Hulme

Developer plans to include Wayfindr technology into a controversial student tower block to help the blind.

17:55 08 April 2019

Developer Alumno Group has submitted plans for a 12-storey building on the site of a tiny Georgian pub on Cambridge Street in Hulme. The company is looking to build a 97-unit building with a rooftop terrace built on the site of the Church Inn, where are pub stood for 160 years before closing in 2016.

 

The developer, which has been pioneering ways to help the blind and partially-sighted, has confirmed plans to incorporate Wayfindr technology into the building should the project pushes through. The technology is backed with $1million by Google.

 

Danny Ball, a blind neuroscientist who lost his sight in 2011 and working with the Wayfindr team, said: "There is a global trend toward the social migration to city living and this is growing each year exponentially,"

 

"This is salient for those without sight for whom navigating ever-busier urban spaces is an increasing problem that requires a solution.

 

"Alumno Group’s plans for Church Inn will pioneer exciting new wayfinding technology that could help transform the student experience for those without sight."

 

Tiernan Kenny, CEO of the non-profit start-up, added: "We believe that indoor audio navigation technology can empower vision impaired people to travel independently, opening up a world where they are no longer held back by their sight loss.

 

"We are therefore delighted to support Alumno’s proposed student accommodation developments which will include this cutting-edge audio navigation accessibility solution."