Researchers have developed a rolling suitcase that warns visually impaired users of impending collisions and a wayfinding smartphone app to help people with visual disabilities navigate airport terminals safely and independently.

The suitcase sounds alarms when users head into a collision, while the navigation app provides turn-by-turn audio instructions so travellers can find departure gates, restrooms or restaurants. Both have proved effective in user studies at Pittsburgh International Airport, said Kris Kitani, an assistant professor in the robotics institute at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

The smartphone-based app, NavCog, was developed by CMU and IBM to help the visually impaired navigate independently on campuses and in shopping malls, but has now been modified for the airport, where it “talks” to hundreds of Bluetooth beacons installed throughout the facility. While the suitcase, called BBeep, was developed by another team of researchers from Tokyo.

"Sighted people will usually clear a path if they are aware of a blind person," said CMU Professor Chieko Asakawa, who has been blind since he was 14., "But sighted people may be looking at their smartphone, talking with others or facing another direction. That's when collisions occur."