Contact Light, the Australian technology startup behind the public transport app EMBARK, has been named amongst a group of seven companies awarded access to Transport for NSW’s (TfNSW) Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon network, following a successful pitch to the government body’s innovation team.
Leveraging TfNSW’s beacon hardware installed at the Chatswood Station Interchange in Sydney during an October trial, Contact Light will be expanding EMBARK’s accessibility capabilities, enabling groundbreaking new ideas to improve the public transport experiences for vision impaired commuters.
EMBARK, with over 50,000 users and supported in more than 60 cities and towns around Australia, will utilise this BLE technology to experiment with functions such as indoor wayfinding, community assistance, and geo-alerts as commuters approach their stop – even if they’re underground.
Contact Light CEO Mike Boyd said, “We’re very pleased to be adding the NSW Government to our list of partners, and we are very proud to be working on technology that will benefit the lives of all commuters in Australia – and eventually around the world.”
Jamie Skella, Contact Light Director of User Experience, added, “The geo-relevant utility that BLE technology delivers is an exciting extension to EMBARK’s existing commitment to accessibility, already featuring voice over guidance, wheelchair access information, and best-in-class app readability.”
EMBARK is available globally on the iOS and Android platforms.
Contact Light is the technology and innovation division of Australian listed XTD Ltd (ASX: XTD).