Building Accessible Spaces with Service Canada
In 2024, Service Canada, in partnership with CNIB Access Labs, launched a groundbreaking initiative to make wayfinding seamless for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Bluetooth Smart Beacons were installed across over 50 Service Canada locations to create seamless indoor navigation experiences. These Smart Beacons are fully integrated with the BlindSquare app.
How the Beacons Work
These beacons trigger descriptive audio messages within the BlindSquare app, providing information that empowers Visitors to independently find entrances, service counters, elevators, accessible washrooms, and other key destinations.
For people who are blind or low-vision, this translates into greater autonomy, reduced anxiety, a significantly enhanced user experience and a sense of inclusion when accessing essential public services.
However, the innovation doesn’t end there.
Wayfinding technology designed for accessibility also provides powerful benefits for fully sighted users.
In environments where signage may be confusing, obstructed, or absent — such as large government buildings, retail spaces, hospitals, or during renovations — accessible navigation & wayfinding technology can assist all visitors in navigating complex layouts with ease.
Universal design creates better outcomes
By embedding accessibility into infrastructure, organizations don’t just meet compliance requirements — they offer a superior experience to every customer, client, or visitor.
Accessible wayfinding improves the user experience, builds trust, and sends a clear message: you belong here.
#DidYouKnow more than 8 million Canadians live with some form of disability. Let’s build a Canada where every person can navigate their world independently, confidently — and with dignity.
An Inclusive Design Approach
People from the blind and low-vision community were engaged to test and provide feedback on the Service Canada project in real-world environments.
Their insights helped identify key opportunities to strengthen the user experience, including:
- Delivering clear, consistent messaging at critical navigation points (such as entrances, service counters, elevators, and washrooms)
- Providing more detailed location descriptors to help users better understand the function or services available at a destination
- Integrating tactile, auditory, and visual cues to offer a multisensory wayfinding experience that benefits users with a range of abilities
Engaging testers with lived experience ensured that the wayfinding solutions were practical, intuitive, and aligned with the everyday needs of individuals navigating independently through complex public spaces.
Lessons Learned
Some of the Key Lessons from the Service Canada Pilot Project Included:
- Reducing visual and physical clutter in areas where beacon signals are transmitted, improving reliability and clarity
- Enhancing tactile floor indicators to create a layered, multisensory experience.
- Prioritizing simple, intuitive app integrations so that navigation assistance is easy to access for both experienced and first-time users.
This project demonstrates the power of public-private collaboration to drive meaningful accessibility improvements, setting a new benchmark for how government services can serve everyone better.
👉 Learn more about this success story:
🔗 Service Canada’s 2024 Accessibility Progress Report
Closing Comments
The future of navigation & wayfinding is bright!
As we look ahead, adopting accessible wayfinding solutions is not just socially impactful— it’s a smart business and organizational strategy.
Whether you are a leader in public service, transportation, education, healthcare, or retail, investing in inclusive wayfinding tools ensures that every person — regardless of ability — can confidently navigate your spaces.
Today’s wayfinding technologies include:
- Bluetooth Smart Beacons for precise indoor positioning.
- Audio navigation apps delivering real-time step-by-step guidance.
- Tactile maps and floor indicators providing physical navigation cues.
- Enhanced visual signage incorporating braille, high-contrast tactile or embossed text, and QR codes.
- Camera-based indoor navigation using mobile device cameras to interpret environments.
- Augmented reality smart codes offering scannable visual markers that deliver navigation information.
- Smart kiosks and AI-powered dynamic mapping platforms.
By combining these solutions, organizations create environments that are easier to navigate for everyone — not just people who are blind or low-vision.
And inclusive spaces build loyalty, trust, and long-term success.
If you’re interested in learning more about these innovations, we invite you to connect with us to get started.