About
Lazarillo is an inclusive navigation platform built to empower people with disabilities to navigate the world more independently and confidently. Through its free mobile app, users receive turn-by-turn audio guidance, local information, and accessible wayfinding for both indoor and outdoor environments. The app supports a wide range of hardware integrations including Bluetooth beacons, 3D LiDAR scanning, and 5G connectivity for precise indoor positioning. On the business side, Lazarillo's MapVX platform allows organizations — from hospitals and shopping centers to smart cities and universities — to create fully customizable, interactive digital maps of their facilities. These maps can be embedded into websites, mobile apps, and physical kiosks, and are automatically made available within the Lazarillo mobile app. The platform includes an easy-to-navigate directory of facilities and supports multiplatform integration out of the box. Lazarillo serves a broad audience: individuals with visual impairments benefit from best-in-class accessible wayfinding, while businesses gain a powerful tool to improve the visitor experience and demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity. Notable deployments include Bedrock's 'Decked Out Detroit' field guide for the 2024 NFL Draft. With tiered business plans and a free consumer app, Lazarillo bridges the gap between accessibility and modern digital mapping technology.
Key Features
- Turn-by-Turn Audio Guidance: Provides real-time, audio-based navigation instructions tailored for users with visual impairments, ensuring safe and confident wayfinding indoors and outdoors.
- Custom Interactive Digital Maps: Businesses and organizations can create fully customizable digital maps of their physical spaces, complete with a navigable directory of facilities and points of interest.
- Multiplatform Integration: Digital maps can be seamlessly embedded into websites, mobile apps, and physical kiosks, and are automatically published within the Lazarillo mobile app.
- Flexible Indoor Positioning Hardware: Supports Bluetooth beacons, 3D LiDAR scanning, and 5G integration for accurate indoor navigation across complex environments like hospitals and shopping centers.
- MapVX Business Platform: A dedicated platform for enterprises and public organizations to deploy accessible, interactive location guides at scale — as demonstrated during the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit.
Use Cases
- A person with visual impairment uses the free Lazarillo app to navigate an unfamiliar shopping mall with turn-by-turn audio guidance.
- A hospital deploys Lazarillo's indoor mapping solution to help patients and visitors find their way to clinics, labs, and waiting areas without staff assistance.
- A smart city integrates Lazarillo maps into public kiosks and their official app to provide accessible wayfinding across transit hubs and civic buildings.
- A university maps its entire campus with Lazarillo so students with disabilities can independently navigate between buildings, lecture halls, and services.
- A major event organizer uses the MapVX platform to publish an interactive field guide for attendees, highlighting nearby restaurants, parking, and activities.
Pros
- Free Consumer App: The Lazarillo mobile app is available at no cost, making accessible navigation immediately available to anyone with a disability.
- Versatile Business Use Cases: Supports diverse verticals including healthcare, retail, hospitality, smart cities, and universities with tailored accessible mapping solutions.
- Inclusive by Design: Purpose-built for accessibility, ensuring that both the end-user app and the business platform meet the needs of people with visual and other disabilities.
Cons
- Business Plans Required for Advanced Features: Custom digital maps, indoor navigation hardware integration, and enterprise features are locked behind paid business plans, which may be a barrier for smaller organizations.
- Hardware Dependency for Indoor Navigation: High-accuracy indoor positioning requires additional hardware like Bluetooth beacons or LiDAR infrastructure, which adds deployment complexity and cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Lazarillo app free to download and use?
Yes, the Lazarillo mobile app is free for individual users. It provides accessible outdoor navigation and access to any mapped locations available on the platform.
How can a business get their location mapped with Lazarillo?
Businesses can sign up for one of Lazarillo's business plans, which include the creation of customizable digital maps, integration options, and access to the MapVX platform.
What types of organizations does Lazarillo support?
Lazarillo works with a wide range of organizations including hotels and resorts, healthcare facilities, shopping centers, airports, smart cities, and universities.
How does indoor navigation work with Lazarillo?
Indoor navigation uses flexible hardware options such as Bluetooth beacons, 3D LiDAR scanning, or 5G integration to provide precise location data and turn-by-turn guidance inside buildings.
Can Lazarillo maps be integrated into an existing website or app?
Yes, Lazarillo's digital maps support multiplatform integration and can be embedded into your website, mobile app, or physical kiosks in addition to being available within the Lazarillo app.
