BG Staff
On reaching a place, the biggest thought of wheelchair bound individual the accessibility of the place. It might not be an issue for others but for wheelchair bound people it is an important question to be asked. The truth is there are many areas where such people are not provided any special facilities for their inability to move freely. It becomes even harder for them to reach a place and discover there is no possible mean for them to enter a building. But Google has now got the answer to this problem.
Google has made available an indication of “Wheelchair accessible entrance” through Google Maps. In the location’s Amenities section, the user will be notified for the accessibility. Currently all locations are not shown for accessibility. Organizations like Wheelmap have been building dataset from quite some time. Google is contacting users who contribute location information in exchange for getting an early hand on latest features. But it will take time for Google to grow its dataset into major areas.
This current effort is supported by Google Rio Asaka as a contribution for his 20% time which is a policy by the company to allocate one day of a week for working on side projects. Majority of the buildings in cities are not wheelchair accessible. Google Map’s notification can help wheelchair bound individuals to make their mind before reaching a place and plan accordingly.
Via: Tech Crunch
