Talking Compass App

App Applications

This project involved creating a talking compass app designed as an electronic travel aid for individuals with visual impairments. When activated, the app identifies the direction the user is facing and speaks one of eight possible directions: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, or northwest. Each direction was assigned an approximate 40–50 degree azimuth range so that the app could classify continuous orientation sensor values into understandable directional categories. I calibrated and tested these ranges using an actual compass to ensure the spoken directions accurately matched the user’s physical orientation. The app could supplement a long cane or guide dog by providing additional orientation information during travel.

ScreenRecording_09-10-2026 12-30-37_1.MP4

Building Process

The app was created using MIT App Inventor and the orientation sensor built into a phone. The program reads the phone’s azimuth value, which represents its direction from 0 to 359 degrees, and uses conditional logic to determine which directional range the value falls within. A single button activates the program using a “when clicked, do” event. Based on the orientation sensor reading, the appropriate direction is then passed to a Text-to-Speech call, allowing the phone to verbally announce the direction the user is facing.

Learned Skills

Using collected orientation sensor data from phone sensors
Developing conditional logic o convert azimuth values into eight spoken compass directions
Calibrating and validating sensor-based software by comparing app outputs with a physical compass
Troubleshooting via adjusting directional boundaries to produce accurate and consistent spoken outputs

Blocks of code used to code buttons to speak certain phrases when clicked.

Designer display of button.

Project Created & Finished: September 10, 2026 from 9am - 10:20am

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse