Helping the Visually Impaired Walk Alone Coded Braille Blocks” Pioneer the City of the Future

The Neurodiversity Project, sponsored by B Lab, aims to realize a society in which the diversity of the brain and nervous system is respected and everyone is empowered to be their own person. In this Neurodiversity Project interview series, we will introduce the efforts of Professor Kunio Matsui (▲Photo 1▲) of the Department of Intelligent Information Systems, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, who exhibited at “Brain World for Everyone” for the first time in 2025. Kunio Matsui’s laboratory is working on the development and social implementation of “coded Braille blocks,” which enable users to obtain audio information about their surroundings when they hold their smartphones over Braille blocks in the city. Nanako Ishido (▲Photo 2▲), Director of B Lab, spoke with Matsui about his research to help the visually impaired walk alone.

> Interview videos are also available!

Experience the “invisible world” with special Braille blocks and low vision glasses
The Invisible World

Ishido: “Dr. Matsui exhibited at “Brain World for Everyone” for the first time this year. Please tell us about what kind of exhibit you had and what kind of research you usually do.”

Dr. Matsui: “We have developed a special block that provides voice guidance and information when a smartphone is held over the Braille blocks that are usually found in the city, and we are conducting research to assist people who are blind or have difficulty seeing to walk alone. Did you know that there are two types of Braille blocks? One is a guide block with a raised vertical line several centimeters wide that indicates the direction you are going, and the other is a warning block with round blobs that let you know where to stop and where you need to be careful.

We have developed “Coded Braille Blocks,” which provide audio guidance on current location and surrounding information by marking (coding) triangles and black circles on these warning blocks and reading them with a dedicated smartphone application. The information provided can be changed depending on the marking pattern.

Based on these research findings, the theme of the “Brain World for Everyone” exhibit in 2025 was “Let’s Experience the Invisible World. For example, the “low vision glasses” that allow visitors to experience a world that is difficult to see are glasses purchased at a 100-yen store that have no lenses and are covered with a vinyl that looks like frosted glass, making the vision very smoky. Visitors were asked to put on the “low vision glasses” and experience “which colors are easy to see” and “which color combinations are easy to understand.

After experiencing both “easy-to-read and easy-to-see letters” and “easy-to-see and hard-to-see Braille blocks,” the participants actually put on low vision experience glasses and walked on the coded Braille blocks.

Many people don’t know what the ‘invisible world’ is like, so they feel very scared at first. When I was with people who were following the Braille blocks with white canes, I could feel that they were a little relieved when they heard the voice guidance of the coded Braille blocks. The system provides information such as, “There is another Braille block 3 meters in front of you,” or “To the right is the end of the street,” so I could understand that this kind of sound information is very supportive and reliable for people who have difficulty seeing or cannot see. We had 200 participants experience this.

The post-experience survey data was also valuable. We have never conducted a survey of several hundred people before, so this will be very useful for future research. Above all, it was a great encouragement for our research that the participating children learned about a world where it is difficult to see and were inspired to think about such questions as “What are Braille blocks for?

This was a very meaningful experience for the R&D team as well as for the children, which is what we felt at the Neurodiversity exhibit.”

Braille blocks can provide information about the surrounding area
help the visually impaired to walk alone.

Ishido: “The Braille blocks that we see everyday in the city and on station platforms are taken for granted as ‘that kind of thing,’ and I had unconsciously taken them for granted as ‘infrastructure that has already been completed. That is why I was surprised and fascinated by Dr. Matsui’s research, in which he has given new functions and meanings to them through the idea of coding.

Braille blocks are a technology that was born in Japan and has spread throughout the world. Could you tell us again about the background of its birth, its progress to date, and the issues it is currently facing? I would also like to hear from you about how you came to reexamine the Braille block and to engage in research on coded Braille blocks, as well as your awareness of the issues involved.”

Dr. Matsui: “As you pointed out, Braille blocks originated in Japan and were installed for the first time in the world in 1967 at the Haraojima intersection near the Okayama School for the Blind in Okayama City. The idea came from a businessman, Mr. Seiichi Miyake, who thought it would be a good idea to make a street sign for students attending the school for the blind so that they could walk in a straight line. Later, Braille blocks attracted attention at the 1970 Japan World Exposition held in Osaka, and since then, Braille blocks have spread throughout Japan.

Today, they are used in many different countries around the world. Although some of the shapes are different from those in Japan, the idea of Braille blocks, which are touched with the foot or with a white cane, is spreading throughout the world.

The challenge faced by Braille blocks, as I mentioned at the beginning of this article, is that there are only two types of blocks. In other words, they can only provide two types of information, such as the direction of travel and warnings of danger and caution, which has been a major frustration for people who are blind or visually impaired. If more information were provided, they would be able to make use of it and walk alone more smoothly.

For example, conveying information about the area around a Braille block, such as “What is straight ahead?” or “There is a pedestrian crossing on the right, so you have to be careful. With this in mind, we have been developing coded Braille blocks (▲Photo 3▲).

However, if electronic devices are embedded or high-tech are installed in Braille blocks, maintenance will be required in various forms, for example, batteries will need to be installed and replaced. Considering these factors, it is difficult to simply embed electronic devices in Braille blocks, and it has become clear that introducing high-tech devices is not always a good idea.

We therefore decided to use the current “low-tech Braille blocks” as they are, with the minimum amount of processing required to mark them, and to read them with a high-tech smart phone.

By separating what needs maintenance as low-tech and what we can improve upon as high-tech, the coded Braille block was born.”

Coded Braille blocks to be
incorporated as “urban infrastructure”.

Ishido: “We have heard that Braille blocks have been gradually introduced overseas in recent years, but to what extent are they actually in use today? Also, in cities where Braille blocks have not been fully installed, what kind of systems are in place to support the visually impaired in getting around and obtaining information?

I feel that your research is being developed from the perspective of how to make Braille blocks multifunctional, based on the premise that they already exist as urban infrastructure. On the other hand, there is a possibility that information provision methods for the visually impaired are not necessarily limited to Braille blocks, and I am interested in other information provision methods as well. From this perspective, please tell us what information provision methods are used in other countries and what alternative approaches are being considered in the absence of Braille blocks. After that, we would like to hear your thoughts on the background and reasons for finally coming up with the approach of coding Braille blocks among the various options available.”

Dr. Matsui: “First of all, I have heard that overseas, especially in Europe and the United States, it is rare for people to walk alone, and they are always accompanied by an escort. Conversely, the current situation seems to be that the desire to walk alone is not being fulfilled.

Other than Braille blocks, another method of providing information is the use of GPS. However, the current GPS has an error of about 10 meters. For example, if the location of a pedestrian crossing is given incorrectly by 10 meters, a car would hit you.

We are also paying attention to GPS, but at the moment, the margin of error is a big problem, and we think that within 10 years, the margin of error will be a few centimeters, but when that happens, I think that by combining both GPS and Braille blocks, we will be able to expand the area where people can walk more extensively and freely. I am sure that when that happens, the combination of GPS and Braille blocks will expand the range of places where people can walk freely.”

Ishido: “In listening to you, I felt that the idea of embedding codes in Braille blocks is an approach that can be applied not only to support the visually impaired but also to various other areas of urban infrastructure. In this case, Braille blocks were chosen as a medium to support visually impaired people, but there are people in society with a variety of other characteristics and disabilities, including auditory and cognitive disabilities, in addition to visual disabilities. As an extension of this research, how do you think it can be applied to other disabilities and cognitive characteristics? Also, what kind of developments and possibilities do you think are possible in the future when you look at the idea of “embedding codes” in relation to the city?”

Dr. Matsui: “Ms. Ishido just said ’embedding codes,’ but we think of it as ‘scattering IDs,’ and since we are scattering IDs, this can be used without an application for coded Braille blocks. The warning block has 25 prongs, so you can use them to create about 30 million different marking patterns.

However, we feel that even 30 million types of information is not enough. Therefore, if we combine IDs with GPS and create combinations of regional IDs and pattern IDs, such as “520 numbers in Tokyo” or “520 numbers in Kanazawa,” the IDs will spread infinitely. In this sense, I think it would be wonderful if we could think of a way to develop a form in which the IDs that are scattered can be used by anyone in a variety of applications.

The ID we are now embedding has latitude and longitude information to the seventh decimal place, together with location information with an error margin of about 30 centimeters. We would like to make this open data available to everyone. I think this is the future form of the system.”

Ishido: “I understood that you are trying to create an infrastructure where IDs are scattered throughout the urban space and anyone can refer to and utilize them from various applications. This seems to me to be an attempt to redefine the city itself as an information platform. What other research and practices are underway in Japan and abroad regarding such a system? Also, if there are any fields or cases that are in close proximity to or inspired by your research, please let us know.”

Dr. Matsui: “The game Pokémon GO allows you to embed information in certain places, such as on the street, and draw various kinds of information from it. Coded Braille blocks are embedded in sidewalks, so they inevitably cannot contain sales-oriented information, but if we embed them in more private places, we can include a variety of sales-oriented information and many game elements as well.

What we are doing is simply scattering IDs, and it is the app side that thinks that those IDs will ‘enable this kind of thing to be done in this place. With this in mind, I believe that a variety of apps will be developed, and these apps will spread.”

Combined with GPS to reduce costs
Coded Braille blocks that don’t code.”

Ishido: “In the actual development of the product, I believe that you have been in continuous dialogue with the people involved in the project. Did the introduction of the coded Braille blocks lead to any changes in the behavior and mobility of the people involved? Also, through such behavioral changes and on-site reactions, please tell us about any new questions that came to light in your own research, or discoveries that will lead to your next research project.”

Dr. Matsui: “Our development team places great importance on ‘inclusive design. We feel that this is a very good cycle.

For example, recent smartphones are equipped with a function called “voice over” or “talk back” that reads out information for people who are blind or have difficulty seeing. You mentioned that it is very important that our apps be able to use these functions, in other words, that our apps be an extension of the functions that the people concerned use on a daily basis. I think that is exactly right.

Furthermore, when asked where it would be convenient to have coded Braille blocks, public restrooms are often mentioned. In fact, restrooms are a very important issue for people who are blind or have difficulty seeing. First of all, if they do not know whether to use the men’s or women’s restroom, they may make the mistake of going into the women’s restroom, or vice versa. I have heard that once they experience this, they become traumatized and cannot go into public restrooms.

Furthermore, there is a big problem after entering the restroom. It is that they do not know what kind of toilet bowl is available or where the private room is located. Since there are no Braille blocks in the restrooms, they cannot be well guided. Even when they finally reach a private room, they may not know the location or shape of the flush button after finishing their business. In fact, toilets do not have a standardized construction, and the position and operation of the buttons vary from toilet to toilet. We have heard from those involved that they have trouble in each of the following situations: “before going to the toilet,” “after going to the toilet,” and “after entering the private room” because the specifications are different for each toilet.

Our research team thinks it is important to solve these problems not only with coded Braille blocks, but also with a combination of various other things.”

Ishido: “In Japan, Braille blocks are widely recognized as indispensable urban infrastructure, and I think they have been well maintained. On the other hand, I suspect that in many cases overseas, the cost of installation and maintenance is a contributing factor, and the introduction of Braille blocks has not progressed sufficiently. In order to overcome the cost argument and further expand the use of Braille blocks, as you mentioned at the beginning of your talk, I think it is important to consider adding value through multifunctionalization. What are your thoughts on this point?

Not all of the buildings that serve as venues for “Minna no Brain World” and the surrounding streets are fully accessible, and there are many occasions when the management wonders how to respond to such situations. Even in environments where Braille blocks are not installed, what kind of devices and approaches can be considered to reduce the number of problems and deliver necessary information appropriately? If you have any ideas through your experience or research, we would love to hear them.”

Dr. Matsui: “We also think it is very important to expand the use of Braille blocks. There are two key points in expanding the use of Braille blocks: ‘expanding the scope’ and ‘making people aware of Braille blocks. The first, “broadening the scope,” is to code Braille blocks. Coding can add value at a lower cost, but it is difficult to code a large number of Braille blocks.

Therefore, we are considering the possibility of providing a variety of information in a “non-codable” form. One way to do this is through the use of GPS. I mentioned earlier that the accuracy of the current GPS is a problem, but there are already technologies that can improve the accuracy. However, Braille blocks are still necessary for people who are blind or have difficulty seeing to identify when they are “walking straight while touching” or when they “need information at this point.

Therefore, we are working on the development of “non-coding coded Braille blocks” that can be combined with GPS to obtain information similar to that of coded Braille blocks, in essence, without coding. Furthermore, the information to be obtained is currently being created manually, but we are also working on using generative AI to automatically create guidance information from a map. Currently, we feel that it will work and we will be able to get automatically generated information at every point without having to code it. Once this becomes possible, the cost will be much lower than before, and we expect that the scope of use will rapidly expand.”

From a variety of information overflowing in the city
to a society that can filter out the necessary information.

Ishido: “In “Brain World for Everyone,” brain diversity is one of the key themes. Many neurodivergent people feel greatly burdened by the amount of information and stimulation in urban spaces. In an environment overflowing with information such as light, sound, signs, and displays, there are many cases where people find it difficult to move around or stay in the city due to overstimulation. From the perspective of how to control such “urban information load,” what do you think are the engineering approaches and design possibilities? We would like to hear your thoughts based on your past research and experience.” (▲Photo 4▲)

Dr. Matsui: “I specialize in natural language processing and have been involved in research and development of automatic translation since the 1980s. I believe that natural language processing can filter information to some extent. It is possible to filter and extract the information that you want, for example, ‘information for directions’ or ‘information about the history of this area. Therefore, I think it is necessary to first provide users with a filtering function that allows them to obtain only the information they want.

We will have to make a decision on how to filter the information by asking the opinions of various parties involved, but technically, we believe that filtering can solve the problem of information overload to some extent.”

Ishido: “This is a very interesting story. Although this exhibition introduced initiatives mainly for the visually impaired, there are people with various other characteristics and backgrounds in society, such as those who have difficulty switching attention, those who have a sense of direction, and those who feel linguistic barriers because Japanese is not their native language. I feel that it will become increasingly important to realize cities where these diverse people can move around without feeling overly lost or anxious. If we view the city as an information space, how should the city of the future design and present information? Please tell us your thoughts on what you envision for the future of cities and information space.”

Dr. Matsui: “This is a difficult question. I basically believe that information is only as good as it is available. And basically, I think it is good if people can choose the information they want to use. It is very difficult to obtain information that does not exist, but it is technically possible and practical to filter information that already exists.

If we can realize a world where people can choose only what they need from the information in the city through technology that allows them to personalize and collect the information they really need while expanding the information as much as possible, I think that is the way the city of the future should be.”

Ishido: “In the neurodiversity project, we place importance on the idea that “as long as each individual is diverse, the more choices we have, the better. If there are more options, each person may be able to find a way that suits him or her. Based on this idea, our first goal is to increase the number of choices in society. As I listened to the professor’s talk, I felt a strong sense of empathy for the overlapping directions he was taking.

In addition to the technical uniqueness and superiority of the coded Braille block, I feel that the process of implementing it in society itself is very suggestive. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in the actual social implementation? I would also like to hear about the factors and innovations that enabled you to overcome these obstacles.”

Dr. Matsui: “There were many obstacles. The most difficult thing was to gain the understanding of the people involved. At first, even people from the Association for the Visually Impaired objected, saying, ‘It’s outrageous to paint the Braille blocks in colors. We only marked the yellow Braille blocks with a little black. Even though we explained to them that the area would be less than 1/50th, they misunderstood and thought that painting the blocks in color would make it difficult for people with low vision to see.

In addition, the sidewalks where the implementation would take place include city roads, prefectural roads, national roads, and private roads, all of which have different management departments. One of the obstacles was running around to get permission from all of them.

A society with fewer barriers will make life easier, and for this reason, we need to make our efforts known to the public. If people think it is convenient and everyone can use it, and if we can gain what is called “civic rights,” I believe that people will become aware of the need to create and maintain their own facilities. It is a big hurdle to get to that point.”

From the Perspective of Diversity and Inclusiveness
Developing technologies that have an impact on society

Ishido: “In many of the projects of neurodiversity, I feel that technologies and services that were initially created as solutions for people with problems have expanded to become useful and enrich the lives and livelihoods of many more people as a result.

I believe that Dr. Matsui’s research was originally based on the technology of inclusion in diversity, but from what I have heard so far, I strongly feel that it has the potential to have an even greater impact on a wider range of society in the future. If you have any signs of such expansion or any budding seeds that you have already sensed, I would be very interested to hear about them.”

Dr. Matsui: “You are right. What is easy for a blind or visually impaired person to use should also be easy for a sighted person to use. On the other hand, just because something is easy to use for a person who can see does not mean that it is also easy to use for a person who is blind or has difficulty seeing. We are engaged in research and development with this belief. We believe that it is our mission as developers to first listen to the opinions of the people concerned and then pursue ease of use to the utmost.”

Ishido: “You spoke earlier about the city of the future, but again, what do you think it would be desirable for urban infrastructure to look like in 2050? Please tell us your vision of the city of the future.”

Dr. Matsui: “For example, many people may feel that there are too many billboards in cities today, or that many of them are dirty. In order to solve this problem and make the city cleaner, we think it would be better to eliminate billboards from the city in the first place, and instead of billboards, there should be IDs. The ID itself could be something that is not visible, but could be sent wirelessly.

I feel that today’s cities have too many things to look at, and I think the city of the future is a neat and clean world maintained by ID, a world where you can see only what you want and the information you need.”

Ishido: “Indeed, it could lead to the ultimate individually optimized space, a space where individuals have the right to choose whether to retrieve necessary information on their own and block out unnecessary information. This would free us from the suffocating feeling of being bombarded with information one way or the other. Finally, do you have any message for our readers regarding your future activities and research?”

Dr. Matsui: “I think the Neurodiversity Project is an excellent initiative. As Ms. Ishido mentioned, the perspectives of diversity, inclusion, and equity are important, and we are working on our own “DE&I: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We hope to continue our efforts and further expand our understanding of this area in the future.

We would also like to build a relationship with the B Corp, an international certification system that certifies companies and organizations that contribute to society and the environment.”

Ishido: “B Corp is run by B Lab, an American non-profit organization, and coincidentally, our neurodiversity project is also run by the same institute named B Lab. Therefore, I have felt for some time that it would be nice to have a connection with them, and it was with great interest that I listened to Dr. Matsui’s talk today.

I feel that the coded Braille blocks that you have been working on, while originally a technology for someone else, is a technology that has the power to eventually change the way society as a whole works. I realized once again through today’s talk that in order to expand the use of this technology, it is essential not only for the technology itself, but also for society as a whole to deepen its understanding of diversity and to mature. Thank you very much for your valuable talk today.”