Case study · DeKalb, Illinois (USA)
A campus that speaks to every Husky.
Northern Illinois University and the City of DeKalb install more than 1,500 NaviLens codes across campus and inside city buses. One app —and one URL: go.niu.edu/wayfinding— to find your way, listen and understand the campus.
1,500+
NaviLens codes across the campus and the urban fleet
NIU
Northern Illinois University · DeKalb, Illinois
City of DeKalb
Transit · city buses integrated
100 ft
Detection distance announced by NIU (~30 m)
The client
Northern Illinois University
& City of DeKalb
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public university in DeKalb, Illinois, with thousands of students and a campus easily recognised by its historic Altgeld Hall —the «Castle» featured in the wayfinding programme's official material.
Together with the City of DeKalb (DeKalb Public Transit), NIU has integrated NaviLens into a single experience that goes from a classroom or an elevator to the buses crossing the city. The Ethics and Compliance Office and the IT Accessibility Office maintain the official page go.niu.edu/wayfinding.
§ The challenge
Letting any Husky move around campus on their own.
- 01
A large campus for Huskies from all over the world
NIU welcomes international students, faculty, staff and visitors. Classrooms, libraries, offices, elevators, emergency exits and the Castle itself: too much information that did not reach those who could not read it or did not speak English.
- 02
Campus + city as a single experience
A NIU student's day mixes academic buildings with the City of DeKalb's urban buses. A consistent wayfinding layer was needed between the university and public transport.
- 03
A universal tool, not «for blind people»
The NIU Accessibility team was looking for a solution useful for people with low vision, but also for anyone who does not know the building or is not a native English speaker. An accessible layer that benefits every Husky.
§ The solution
An accessible layer over campus + city.
Each «go.niu.edu/wayfinding» code identifies a point: a bus stop, an elevator, an office door, an emergency exit or a room like the Esports Arena. The NaviLens app reads it from several metres away, at an angle, on the move and in low light.
Users hear the content in their own language, even if they do not speak English and even if it is their first day at NIU. The library even prioritises an accessible workstation with ClearView Speech signposted with a NaviLens code.
§ Timeline
From a pilot at NIU to a stable wayfinding programme.
- 10 Jan 2023
NIU «leads the way» — pilot announcement
NIU Today publishes the launch of the accessible wayfinding system with NaviLens: codes installed across campus so students, faculty and visitors can hear key information from their phone.
- 19 Oct 2023
1,500+ codes on campus and city buses
Shaw Local · Daily Chronicle reports the installation of more than 1,500 NaviLens codes across the NIU campus and inside City of DeKalb buses, aimed in particular at people with visual impairments.
- 8 Nov 2023
Institutional roll-out from CHHS
NIU's College of Health and Human Sciences highlights the programme as best university practice in accessibility: smartphone + code + the free NaviLens app, with no account or extra infrastructure required.
- Every day
Official wayfinding: go.niu.edu/wayfinding
The Ethics and Compliance Office maintains the public «Accessible Wayfinding» page at go.niu.edu/wayfinding. The app detects codes up to 40 feet away, on the move, at an angle and in low light, and reads them out in the phone's language.
§ What they said
What NIU and the local press said.
“Northern Illinois University recently unveiled NaviLens, a new wayfinding tool with more than 1,500 QR codes placed around campus and on city buses to help people with visual impairments navigate.”
“Evolving as a leader in efforts to increase accessibility, NIU has piloted a new wayfinding system that will benefit all Huskies, especially those who are blind or visually impaired.”
“The wayfinding system allows students, faculty, staff and visitors to hear key information and navigate their way through campus through the use of smartphones, posted QR codes and a free app called NaviLens.”
§ Where the system is
Classrooms, offices, elevators, exits and DeKalb city buses.
§ Results
An accessible university from the office door to the last bus stop.
1,500+
Active NaviLens codes at NIU and across DeKalb's urban network
1 app
Free NaviLens — the same app used at MTA, Walmart or EUIPO
1 URL
go.niu.edu/wayfinding as the single entry point for Huskies and visitors
§ And your centre?
Every classroom and clinic can be guided by voice.
Tell us about your centre, your journeys and your users. We’ll show you how NaviLens would make wayfinding easier.
