Accessibility

UniMaps 2.0.2 Beta-Update

2025-02-25T06:52:48+01:00

Version 2.0.2 of the UniMaps app was released on 20.2.2025.

In the Android version, the functionality was added to read out the balance of the Mensa card and to report obstacles (by long clicking on the map). Aliases can now be created and locations can be selected by clicking on the map.
In addition, some bugs have been fixed and the stability of the app has been improved.

UniMaps 2.0 Beta launched

2024-12-22T23:48:17+01:00

This year we have been concentrating on the development of UniMaps version 2.0. Some of you have already given us valuable feedback during the closed alpha phase and now we are ready to start the open beta phase. This means that all of you can now test the new version of UniMaps.

This new version of UniMaps is a completely new development based on new technology. With the start of the beta phase, the application is now more stable and contains more features than during the alpha phase. However, the beta still contains bugs and some features are not (fully) implemented. This version is therefore primarily for users who are keen to experiment and give us feedback. At this stage, we are able to tweak the features and take your feedback into account.

To join test, iOS users need to install the Testflight app and then use the invitation link to join the test: https://testflight.apple.com/join/81DdMJgZ

Android users can join the beta directly from the PlayStore.

We are excited to launch the beta before the holiday season and look forward to receiving lots of feedback from you to help us make the app even better.

SHUFFLE In-Person Meeting in Bielefeld: On the Home Stretch Toward Accessible Digital Education

2024-09-18T11:17:22+02:00

In the fall of 2024, another in-person meeting of the SHUFFLE project will take place in Bielefeld. With the project set to conclude in December 2025, it is now on the home stretch and has already delivered numerous technical, structural, and didactic developments and measures to promote and improve digital accessibility at universities. Some of these innovations are already available as open-source tools and can be directly integrated into everyday university life.

The primary goal of the in-person meeting is to bring together all the staff of the collaborative project, fostering a joint dialogue to structure the final phase and plan a collective presentation of the solutions developed so far. Over the course of the two-day meeting, intensive work will be done on the remaining tasks, and suitable formats for the final presentation of results will be discussed.

As SHUFFLE enters its final phase, one key task remains clear: digital accessibility must be ensured for all students. The project team is confident that the solutions already developed will make a lasting contribution to digital inclusion.

We look forward to the upcoming in-person meeting and an intensive phase of work as we continue to transform the digital educational landscape together with all stakeholders.

Online conversation: Do I say it? Dealing with disability, chronic or mental illness at work

2024-06-20T15:30:38+02:00

On June 27, 2024, an online discussion with Dr. Jana Bauer will take place in cooperation with the ZAB and the Career Service of Bielefeld University. The topic: How to find an individually suitable strategy to communicate or not communicate one's own disability or chronic illness in the application process and in the job. The discussion will reflect on relevant aspects of this decision-making process. Arguments will be presented to provide more clarity on how to deal with a disability or chronic illness in the work context. There will then be an opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion.

Dr. Jana Bauer is a Senior Research Fellow at the Chair of Work and Vocational Rehabilitation at the University of Cologne. Her research examines how people with long-term health impairments can be successfully integrated into working life and how resources can be strengthened to prevent health impairments caused by work.

The format is aimed at students, doctoral candidates and postdocs from all disciplines.

Registration is possible either via the Career Service Portal or via career@uni-bielefeld.de. Language is german.

UniMaps 2.0 - Alpha Testers Wanted

2024-06-13T10:01:32+02:00

This year we have been working intensively on developing UniMaps version 2.0. This version represents a completely new development and is based on a new technological foundation. The UniMaps application is currently in the alpha phase.

An alpha version is an early stage of development where errors may still occur, some functions may only be partially implemented or not implemented at all, and the appearance and behavior may change with future updates. Nevertheless, we would like to involve you, the users, right now so that we can incorporate your feedback directly.

That’s why you can now become an alpha tester for the UniMaps Android and iOS app. As this is a closed test, you must send us an email at unimaps@uni-bielefeld.de if you would like to participate. Please include the email address you use for the App Store or Play Store and specify whether you would like to test the Android or iOS app. We will then send you access.

Advice offered by SBV at the career entry fair <perspektive> : Applying with a disability or chronic illness

2024-06-10T15:36:30+02:00

On Wednesday, June 12, 2024, the career entry fair <perspektive> will take place in the Central Hall of Bielefeld University. In addition to around 70 regional and national companies and institutions from all sectors offering insights into their companies, the Zentrale Anlaufstelle Barrierefrei - ZAB would also like to provide interested students, young graduates, doctoral candidates and postdocs from all subjects at Bielefeld University and Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences with information at the fair.

The University's Representative Body for Severely Disabled Persons (SBV) invites you to an open and confidential consultation hour in room T6-206 from 1 to 4 pm.

The following questions will be discussed:

Does a disability or illness have to be disclosed in the application?
Where in the application documents can the severe disability be stated?
What exactly does equality mean?
What aids will be needed at the future workplace?

Other questions can also be discussed during the open consultation hours.

The SBV is looking forward to your visit!

Successful 6th Workshop on Accessible Documents at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

2024-06-03T15:02:56+02:00

The 6th Workshop on Accessible Documents took place at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology from April 26th to 27th. Over 50 interested parties and experts gathered to exchange ideas, discuss and network.

The workshop took place over two days and offered a varied program. The first day was dominated by various presentations on the topics of digital accessibility, current legislation and innovative approaches. Employees of the ZAB - Zentrale Anlaufstelle Barrierefrei introduced the DACHS project. On the second day, participants were able to take part in various workshops in which practical solutions and tools were presented. Among other things, the ZAB presented checklists as well as an Office Add-In for accessible document creation.

The workshop was a great success and the participants were able to acquire many valuable insights and contacts.

Further information on the Moodle course presented and the DACHS project can be found under the links below. The Office Add-In will be published in the future and also announced here in the blog.

We look back on two intensive and successful days and look forward to the next event.

Development of the UniMaps 2.0 version

2024-02-23T14:14:40+01:00

The development of the UniMaps Android app began seven years ago and the development of the iOS app five years ago. Since then, the app has been developed by students and efforts have always been made to stay at the cutting edge of technology. However, the development of apps has changed a lot during this time and an app that is developed today bears no resemblance to an app from five or even seven years ago. Frameworks, libraries and even programming languages have changed and it is hardly possible to keep our current UniMaps apps up to date with the latest technology.

For this reason, we decided last year to tackle a new implementation. In doing so, we are switching to an up-to-date technological basis, which in particular interlinks the Android and iOS apps more closely. This will ensure the greatest possible platform proximity while avoiding code duplication. We hope that this will result in significantly more stable apps and faster implementation and release of new functions. Version 2.0 will be released in 2024 in a beta and in the final version.

As we are currently putting a lot of work into version 2.0, this also means that there will not be as many updates for the current version in the near future and we will only return to our regular updates with version 2.0. For this reason, we would like to take this opportunity to provide an insight into the current development status of the Android app. It must be said that the design is not yet final and details will probably still change. However, you can already see a function that we were not able to implement so easily in the current Android app, the dark mode:

UniMaps supports the Night of Sounds

2023-07-01T14:22:20+02:00

On 30.06.2023, the Night of Sounds took place again at Bielefeld University from 19:30 to 24:00. This year, UniMaps helped with orientation and reaching the numerous stations, which were spread across the entire main building and the X-building.

All 34 stations where the artists performed were integrated into the app. In addition, QR codes were created to enable direct navigation to the stations. These QR codes were also included in the program booklet, so that participants only had to scan them to be navigated directly to the stations using UniMaps.

We are delighted that we were able to directly support the Night of Sounds in this area.

UniMaps Update

2023-05-05T14:22:53+02:00

Today versions 1.0.8 and 1.0.9 of the UniMaps iOS app were released, as well as version 1.4.10 of the Android app.

With this version of UniMaps, sharing of spaces and routes has been unified. With this, Android devices can now open the shared places from iOS devices and vice versa. In addition, some bugs have been fixed and the stability of the app has been further improved.

UniMaps Update

2022-09-29T14:23:12+02:00

Today version 1.0.7 of UniMaps iOS app was released.

With this version of UniMaps you can report obstacles and avoid them. The operation during navigation has been reworked so that you can now check off or undo instructions with the buttons. In addition, some bugs have been fixed and the stability of the app has been further improved.

UniMaps Update

2022-08-04T13:17:15+02:00

Today version 1.4.7 of the UniMaps Android app was released.

In this update, TalkBack support has been improved to further enhance the user experience of screen reader users. Also, some bugs have been fixed and the stability of the app has been improved.

UniMaps at the ICCHP-AAATE 2022

2022-07-20T14:36:45+02:00

From July 11-15, 2022, ZAB participated in the Joint International Conference on Digital Inclusion, Assistive Technology & Accessibility in Lecco, Italy. Lecco brought together researchers and practitioners in the field of assistive technology and accessibility.

On the topic "Digital solutions for inclusive mobility: solutions and accessible maps for indoor and outdoor mobility", Dustin Matzel presented a paper on the app UniMaps for accessible campus navigation. Mr. Matzel explained in particular the development process: students themselves are involved in the ongoing development of UniMaps and can thus directly adapt the app to their needs. Furthermore, possible problems with digital map generation, indoor navigation and accessible map display in the app and their solution in UniMaps were pointed out.

More information about UniMaps and information about the UniMaps development can be found on our homepage.

UniMaps Update

2022-02-02T14:03:30+01:00

On 2-2-2021 the UniMaps Android and iOS app got updates.

The Android app was updated to version 1.4.4. New in this version is that besides the app itself, the maps can now be displayed in different languages.

If you want to help making UniMaps available in more languages, you can translate the texts of the app on this website: https://unimaps.oneskyapp.com/.

The iOS app has been updated to version 1.0.2. In this version a problem with umlauts was fixed, which caused that some names of people were not displayed correctly.

In addition, minor improvements were made in both apps and the general stability of the apps was improved.

UniMaps iOS release

2022-01-21T15:22:42+01:00

After releasing the Android version in 2019, UniMaps is also available as an iOS version since the end of 2021.

From now on, barrier-free navigation is accessible to all students. Due to numerous functions, all different facilities of Bielefeld University can be fully used and students’ lives could be made easier. In addition to overall improvements the IOS-version now appears in a slick new design.

The app is continuously developed and improved by students of the university.

Presentation of bachelor theses at UniMaps

2022-01-06T13:41:03+01:00

Last year, the first two final theses were written at ZAB. The bachelor thesis titled "Multiplatform rendering of mapsforge binary data" was written by Linus Schwarz and dealt with map rendering for the UniMaps app under the iOS operating system. Map rendering libraries were evaluated as part of this work. Subsequently, a library was extended to display the functionality mapsforge maps. Through the results achieved in this work, it was possible to release the iOS version of UniMaps in 2021. Justus Bachmann wrote a bachelor thesis titled "Indoor smartphone localization and navigation using bluetooth low energy beacons", which dealt with indoor navigation using beacons. In this thesis it was evaluated how precise the localization using beacons is and furthermore a localization was written for the UniMaps app.

On January 18, 2022 at 11am there will be a presentation of the work on zoom. All interested parties are invited to attend the presentation. Here are the access data for the presentation:

https://uni-bielefeld.zoom.us/j/94069143806?pwd=WGZSb3hVbnM5OENFV3k0bkVCbjh2Zz09

Meeting-ID: 940 6914 3806

Password: 926738

UniMaps 1.4.3 Update

2021-07-06T10:43:15+02:00

Version 1.4.3 of the UniMaps Android app was released on 6.7.2021.

In this version, the room search has been revised. You can now navigate directly to various facilities such as the Accessibility Services. In addition, some bugs have been fixed and the stability of the app has been improved.

UniMaps 1.4.2 Update

2021-06-07T00:00:00+02:00

Version 1.4.2 of the UniMaps Android app was released on 7.6.2021.

In this version, the room search has been revised. With the new category "Nearby" you can be navigated to the nearest toilet, defibrillator or place of learning. In addition, some bugs have been fixed and the stability of the app has been improved.

Video and audioguide regarding UniMaps have been published

2021-05-04T00:00:00+02:00

Regarding UniMaps, a new video as well as a revised audio guide have been published on the ZAB Youtube channel, today. The video and the audio guide take central functions, the operation of the app and the navigation on campus Bielefeld as one's theme. Likewise, further helpful functions for the daily life on campus Bielefeld are presented.

Communication and Sensitization are keywords for the ZAB - Zentrale Anlaufstelle Barrierefrei. With it, the Youtube channel is providing diverse videos dealing with different topics. The video can be watched on YouTube under the following link:

https://youtu.be/waRGNtGGwFg

More information as well as the audioguide can be found under:

www.uni-bielefeld.de/unimaps

UniMaps as Best Practice on a Berlin congress

2020-01-31T00:00:00+01:00

On the 31st of January in 2020, UniMaps was introduced on the congress 'Hochschule ohne Hindernisse - Aufgaben, Beispiele, Chancen' (university without barriers - tasks, examples, chances) of Hildegard's Vereins in Berlin. More information about the congress can be found here. The project was presented in form of a poster and within the Best Practice projects.

Best Practice Poster UniMaps (PDF)

UniMaps presented on ISY-Mastercongress

2019-10-28T00:00:00+01:00

In October 2019, the UniMaps-project 'Automatic Code Generation for a Cross-Platform Indoor Navigation App' was presented as a part of the second ISY-Mastercongress. The presentation took place in form of a poster and can be downloaded here:

ISY-Masterkongress Poster (PDF)

Development of IOS with accompanying project

2019-08-01T00:00:00+02:00

In august 2019 the development of an IOS version of UniMaps has started. The app is anticipated to be released in the second half of 2021. The app originates a part of an accompanying project named 'Automatic Code Generation for a Cross-Platform Indoor Navigation App'.

During the project, large parts of the app have been worked on. For that reason, those parts were cross compiled in Objective-C Code. The final report of the project, that is summarizing the evaluation of the cross compilation, can be downloaded in the following.

Project completion document (PDF)

Release of UniMaps 1.0 in PlayStore

2019-05-23T00:00:00+02:00

UniMaps has left the betaphase and is now available in Google PlayStore. Mistakes have been fixed and UniMaps is ready to be published, now. The app has gotten a new appearance, in style of the corporate design of Bielefeld University. New buildings have been added to the maps. Apart from navigation to the main and X-building, UniMaaps offers navigation to CITEC and the Z-building as well.

In the following, a picture of the new design can be seen:

Decision by the rector concerning the UniMaps project

2019-02-05T00:00:00+01:00

Today has been made a decision by the rector on financing the development of Unimaps for three years. The project is under the leading role of the ZAB.

UniMaps datamanagementplan has been published

2019-01-14T00:00:00+01:00

The first version of the UniMaps-datamanagementplan has been designed as part of a project work by Dustin Matzel. The datamanagementplan deals with the handling of project data, the prevention of data loss as well as the responsibilities. The project data includes data generated in the project as well as data and interfaces that is provided by external sources.

The datamanagementplan has been updated every half year, since and can be downloaded from the 'Dokumenten-Pool' (pool of documents):

Datenmanagementplan UniMaps (PDF)