The Carolina App Team, spearheaded by UNC junior Bonnie Zhang and fellow students Jiyoon Moon, Noah Frahm, and Morgan Roberts, are demonstrating their commitment to accessibility through an innovative app known as Luminary. Zhang, a double major in computer science and business, spoke to the Digital Accessibility Office about the Luminary project.

First, what is Luminary, and how can it help Tar Heels? Zhang said, “Luminary is an accessible navigation app [for iOS] meant to be tailored to anyone’s personal needs with the end goal of providing both outdoor and indoor navigation around UNC’s campus.” Luminary will offer accessible routes tailored to individual needs while also allowing users to post real-time accessibility concerns and barriers, visible on a live feed.

Luminary’s development began in conjunction with another UNC club, Tar Heels at the Table (THATT), and the work of UNC alum Christine Mendoza ‘24. The app addresses the critical need for more inclusive routes and the identification of accessibility barriers. Zhang, who has been a part of the development team for a year and a half, draws inspiration from Mendoza’s contributions to the project, whose experiences underscored the myriad accessibility challenges at UNC.

Furthermore, the Luminary project demonstrates the power of collective effort by students in working to make UNC an inclusive campus at the intersections of physical and digital accessibility. Zhang said, “Working on Luminary’s crowdsourcing solution has really shown me how passionate others are about accessibility and how we can come together as a community to better each other’s lives.”

The Luminary team is seeking active participation from the campus community for user testing. This engagement is crucial for refining the app to fit its users’ needs. Zhang emphasizes that no long term commitment is required, and even the smallest help can pay dividends in improving the usability and accessibility of the app during its development. Ways you can get involved include taking surveys, participating in focus groups and feedback sessions, and engaging in beta testing. You can fill out this survey to get involved.