People who are blind can navigate indoors with a phone in their pocket

A pair of smartphone apps can guide people who are blind through unfamiliar buildings, even if their handset is in a pocket. Researchers behind the technology say its main advantage is that no expensive infrastructure is needed to integrate the tools into buildings.

Roberto Manducci Santa Cruz and his colleagues at the University of California have created two prototype wayfinding apps. Both handsets use built-in motion sensors and an AI to help the user…