GPS for the great indoors: The tool to help you navigate everything from airports to hospitals

On this episode of Connected Nation, we're going exploring with GoodMaps, the indoor navigation app. We'll talk with leadership from GoodMaps about the way LiDAR imaging works, why indoor navigation is critical for millions of Americans, and find out what's next for this innovative tech company.

Recommended links: 

Theresa Reno-Weber LinkedIn

GoodMaps website

Chapters

• 2:18 Theresa Reno-Weber background
• 7:58 What is the American Printing House for the Blind?
• 11:36 GoodMaps LiDAR image technology
• 15:35 Technology needed for GoodMaps
• 23:26 Real stories from GoodMaps users
• 27:57 How GoodMaps is used in Airports

Transcript

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (00:00):
This is Connected Nation, an award-winning podcast focused on all things broadband from closing the digital divide to improving your internet speeds. We talk technology topics that impact all of us, our families, and our neighborhoods. On today's podcast, we're doing some exploring with good Maps, the indoor navigation app. We'll talk with leadership from good maps about the way LIDAR imaging works, why indoor navigation is critical for millions of Americans. And what's next for this innovative tech company? I'm Jessica Denson, and this is Connected Nation. I'm Jessica Denson, and today my guest is Theresa Reno Weber, the CEO of Good Maps. Welcome Theresa. 

Theresa Reno-Weber, GoodMaps (00:51):
Hi, Jessica. 

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (00:52):
Hi. We were just talking, we both live in Louisville, Kentucky, and there's a lot of snow here, 

Theresa Reno-Weber, GoodMaps (00:57):
<laugh>. Yes. 

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (00:58):
I'm just glad my internet's working, so I can order food later. <laugh>. I love it. Yeah. Um, I, I, I, I got distracted by snow, but you said you're, just so everybody knows we're recording this in December. It's just Snow Thanksgiving's passed. We're coming into 2026 and Theresa's gonna be our first guest for our season seven, so we're really excited about it. So thank you so much. Uh, before we dive into good maps, I'd love to share some of your background, including what led you to your time at Good Maps. Um, give us a little bit of understanding of your journey. 

Theresa Reno-Weber, GoodMaps (01:32):
Yeah, thank you so much. Um, I'm thrilled to be with you and, uh, it is a little bit unique for me sitting here in Louisville, Kentucky, in the middle of the country. I'm, um, originally from Connecticut and I actually got my start, um, in my career as an officer in the United States Coast Guard. Wow. So I spent a lot of my early career, um, on the coast, uh, and was, uh, commissioned as an officer and, um, served both in San Francisco, Miami, Florida, um, Washington DC did tours to the Persian Gulf, which is always a unique thing when I tell people that the US Coast Guard was, uh, in the Persian Gulf enforcing UN sanctions against Iraq. 

Jessica Denson (02:10):
Um, that, that is interesting. Yeah. You never think of the Coast Guard as being international, but it is, are the waters all considered international? No, they say that 

Theresa Reno-Weber (02:19):
No, they're not all considered international uhhuh, but the Coast Guard's mission goes anywhere. Um, we need to, to be able to, um, support the United States. Um, you know, we definitely have lifesaving missions, but we also, um, serve with the Navy during times of war or in theaters of conflict. And so, um, I always tell people that, you know, I spent my entire career sort of at the intersection of technology and social good, and that really does go back to my start in the Coast Guard where I was using technology to be able to identify and develop search patterns to save lost voters, um, or to interdict drug runners or migrants. Um, and so that's where I first sort of got this sense that being able use technology to, um, serve and help others. Um, and after I left the Coast Guard, I, I was an officer for six years and got out and went to grad school and did some public policy work, and then went to work as a consultant with a global consulting firm doing strategy, um, and, you know, technology work as well.

(03:18)
Um, and translated that then into a local city government role where I was the first chief of performance and technology for the city of Louisville, Kentucky. Um, found my way here, uh, because I married a good old Kentucky boy <laugh>, uh, <laugh>. And I think that's the strategy, um, for Kentucky, is to, uh, send their children out to marry interesting people and bring them back. Um, and so, uh, you know, we moved here about 16 years ago, um, and I got, I got the chance to serve in, in local city government, um, and to use technology and data to improve the way that city government serves its local citizens. Um, and then I got to do kind of something similar as the CEO of Metro United Way, um, where I was working with all of the nonprofit agencies across, um, a seven county footprint in Kentucky and Indiana, and, um, our local city government and our for-profit businesses and our hospital systems to better serve individuals, um, across the community.

(04:11)
And so loved all of that work. Um, really enjoyed being able to, again, use, um, my skills to make the world a better place. And, um, then got the opportunity to join Good Maps. And Good Maps is, um, this phenomenal startup organization that was actually launched out of a partnership with the American Printing House for the Blind. Um, and it was to be able to develop a technology that could help blind and low vision individuals be able to navigate the indoors confidently and independently. Um, and so that's the company that I am now the CEO of, and that I'm excited to talk to you and your listeners about today. 

Jessica Denson (04:47):
<laugh>. Yeah. You, you have such a, um, interesting path that you've taken that it's, it's almost like I wanna break down each piece <laugh>, but just in the interest of time, and so I don't take your whole day because I know your kids are home on a snow day. Yeah. Um, uh, talk about, did, did your time in the Coast Guard really inform me? 'cause it's, it's awesome to see a, a woman, CEOA woman in, in leadership roles mm-hmm <affirmative>. And I'm sure that some of that stuff that you've done, especially in the Coast Guard and beyond, had some groundbreaking moments that maybe you didn't even realize that you were just going through, uh, your career, how you would go through it. But I can imagine you probably inspired some people along the way, um, women seeing themselves in different roles. Uh, so my point being that, did your leadership time in, in the, um, coast Guard lead to you saying, oh, yeah, I can, I could go further and further than, than, than there's no glass ceiling for me. 

Theresa Reno-Weber (05:42):
Yeah. I mean, I, I definitely think I was very fortunate to join, um, the Coast Guard, which is the first service that ever actually admitted women in First Service Academy and First Service, and one of the, you know, first, uh, and only services where there was no restrictions on the jobs that women could serve in. Right. We could be rescue swimmers, we could be captains of ships and vessels. 

Jessica Denson (06:02):
That's amazing. Yeah. Um, 

Theresa Reno-Weber (06:03):
We could go all the way through. Right. So I think that was very formative for me, um, just in terms of being a part of that service. Um, but like any military, I think, um, service and, and definitely folks who have served, whether as officers or enlisted, you are empowered very quickly and early in your career, <laugh>, um, to make hard decisions, um, to lead others. I remember, you know, being 21 years old and having a team of 25 people, um, that I was leading, and, you know, some of them were Career Coast Guard chiefs who'd been in for 21 years. Um, and I was, you know, leading them <laugh> <laugh>. And so you learn very quickly that you don't know much, um, and that, you know, leadership has to take a lot of different forms and you have to trust the knowledge of others and defer to that knowledge. Um, and that has definitely served me well throughout my career. Um, and given me the confidence, I think, to step into positions and spaces that, um, could feel intimidating, but trusting the team and the people around you that, you know together, you can work through it, um, and lead through. It was, again, a really formative, um, part of my early career that I think has served me throughout it, as you say. 

Jessica Denson (07:14):
Well, it's, it's fascinating to hear you talk about all that you've done, and you just sort of breeze by some of those things, <laugh>, but they're, they're, they were pretty, um, significant. So I just wanna give you props for that before we move on. Oh, thanks. Uh, one thing you did mention before we get deeper into what, um, good Maps does is the American, um, house of the, of the Blind, am I saying the full title? Right. American Printing House 

Theresa Reno-Weber (07:35):
For the Blind. 

Jessica Denson (07:36):
Sorry. Printing House. You're, I knew I was missing a word there. 

Theresa Reno-Weber (07:39):
Yep. 

Jessica Denson (07:39):
Um, the American Printing House for the Blind. They have, they're, they're really known. I I think if people haven't grown or haven't lived in Louisville, I've lived here for about 20 years. I'm not from here, but I have lived here a long time, and the organization has done a lot for, for the blind community. It's, they're, they've done some innovative things, correct? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (07:59):
Oh, absolutely. I mean, they are probably one of the best kept secrets <laugh> about, um, our region. They probably shouldn't be. Um, they've been around for over 160 years, um, a nonprofit organization that is serving the interest of blind and low vision individuals, um, by creating resources, um, to assist them in their daily lives, you know, going back even before Braille, um, you know, to, um, embossed wording and lettering, um, and then braille and producing a ton of braille, um, hence the printing house kind of n name. But, um, also innovating with audio books and talking books, um, something that they developed very early before there was Audible or any of the things that now, you know, people might use to listen to, um, their books. And, um, they recognize that that innovation that they've been continually, um, developing and putting out for blind and low vision also has broader applications. And I think Aha for them was those audio books in the sense that, wow, if we had patented that technology, um, we might've been sitting on a gold mine 

Jessica Denson (09:03):
<laugh>. 

Theresa Reno-Weber (09:03):
Yeah. Um, and so, uh, that definitely played into, um, what eventually became good maps, um, and their launch of that out of, um, the idea that there could be a technology in a way to better navigate individuals indoors, um, in the same way that we're all using, you know, Google Maps or ways or Apple Maps and outdoor navigation. 

Jessica Denson (09:26):
So, so talk about that. Okay. So let's, let's dive deeper into that. So the idea that the general idea behind it is we could use stuff outside, but there's also a need for indoors, right? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (09:38):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Yeah. And the reason that your Google maps or, you know, your, your outdoor navigation maps don't sort of work once you get to that venue or space, um, is that there hasn't been a good indoor equivalent to GPS, um, and the indoor world really hasn't been mapped in the same way that the outdoor world has been mapped. If you just think back a couple years ago to Google cars driving around your neighborhood and capturing <laugh>, all of that imagery, you needed to kind of have that same equivalent for an indoor space. Um, and so good maps, um, when we first launched, we were looking at the technology that was in the market at the day, beacons and sensors, and the ways that people were trying to identify and ping off of, you know, your phones, where people are in indoor spaces, um, what they were using for mapping or how to create or recreate maps of indoor spaces.

(10:26)
And while the technology was okay, I mean, obviously not prevalent, we're not all necessarily using that indoors in the same way that we do outdoors. Um, it definitely was not accessible, um, and it wasn't accurate enough, um, to navigate a blind person safely, um, and confidently indoors. And so good maps set about to innovating and identifying how you might, um, you know, do that in a way that's fully accessible, um, to somebody who's blind and low vision, but also then available to any of us. Um, and so we've quickly evolved to say, if we can help a blind person navigate indoors, we can help everyone navigate indoors, <laugh>. Um, and so we've now created basically the indoor equivalent to GPS, um, an ability to use a visual positioning system to locate where someone is to within 25 centimeters or less, which is basically an arm's length, which, um, of where you are in an indoor space, and then give you a super innovative, intuitive turn by turn navigation, um, experience to your indoor 

Jessica Denson (11:31):
Destinations. Is that what you're calling lidar? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (11:35):
LIDAR 

Jessica Denson (11:36):
Is, that's the LIDAR technology. 

Theresa Reno-Weber (11:36):
So the lidar or, um, light imagery detection and rangings, what it stands for, um, laser kind of, um, technology that we use to create the maps, um mm-hmm <affirmative>. Of indoor environments. So digital twins, if you will. Uh, a digital blueprint of an indoor space. We walk through it with a lidar, um, device that helps us capture all of the unique feature points within an indoor space. Um, and then we use that to not only create a really high fidelity indoor map, basically to the millimeter of accuracy, um, but we also use that information to train our patented computer algorithm, um, which allows us to then, when somebody is using our technology, um, pull in all the imagery around them. So you do have to have a smartphone with a camera, but we pull in all the imagery from the, the camera on someone's smartphone and then triangulate their position using thousands of unique feature points that we've already captured in the space through that LIDAR survey. 

Jessica Denson (12:37):
So how many places have you guys done this in so far? Is this nationwide or is it now a process just like the Google Maps had to be at one point? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (12:46):
Yeah, it's a definitely, we're still, you know, building our, our process and our ecosystem and our, um, uh, cache, if you will, of maps and spaces. We have about 300 maps currently, um, across 13 countries. Um, our greatest density though, are here in the US in Canada and in, uh, England or the uk. Um, and then we have a couple of other, um, countries that we're growing into in specific, we call them verticals, but airports are one. So, um, we also have mapped airports in Italy and Greece and Spain. Um, so that now in an airport sector, if you're using good maps, you know, through the Louisville airport when you land, um, in Milan, Italy, all of us who travel from, you know, Louisville to Milan, um mm-hmm <affirmative>. You can use good <laugh> good maps in both of those airports. But you can also use good maps in Austin, Texas, and you can use it in Portland, Oregon, or Portland, Maine. Um, and so, you know, we're trying to create more density in different spaces, um, and also geographies, 

Jessica Denson (13:49):
You know, um, I'm struck with, you know, you said that it can be used by somebody who's, who has vision, um, issues 

Theresa Reno-Weber (13:57):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. 

Jessica Denson (13:57):
But also others, because there are times I've traveled overseas or to other places, and it can be very confusing for anyone. So this can absolutely, this could help really anyone in any of these places. 

Theresa Reno-Weber (14:09):
Yes. 

Jessica Denson (14:09):
Right. Am I reading understanding that 

Theresa Reno-Weber (14:11):
Correctly? A hundred percent. I mean, the number of times where, you know, any of us go to a venue or a space that we're unfamiliar with, think of a, a major event space, and you're trying to find your seat at the stadium, or you're in a new airport or a new train station, or you're up in New York City and you're trying to figure out which metro, you know, <laugh> stop to get off that's accessible. Um, and then which door to leave to get you closest to your outdoor destination. Um, I, all the time I talk to people about what we do, and they immediately throw out their most complicated indoor navigation, you know, scenarios. Um, a lot of people talk about hospitals, we're working on that. Yeah. Um, right. Hospitals are hard to navigate, um, at a time when your or your loved one is really most vulnerable.

(14:57)
Um, college campuses are, are spaces where, you know, definitely if you're a freshman or a parent visiting your student or, you know, visiting schools for college, um, visits, you know, those can be really complex spaces. And the beauty of the technology that Good Maps has created, because it's infrastructure free, which I, I maybe didn't say, but the visual positioning system that we use, um, doesn't require our customers to install or maintain anything, so they don't have to install any hardware beacons or sensors. Um, which is traditionally how people try to do something similar to what we're doing. Um, they don't do that. So 

Jessica Denson (15:32):
What kind of technology does the user need then? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (15:35):
So all the end user needs is their smartphone, and it could be an Android or an iPhone. Um, and they can either download the Good Maps indoor navigation app completely free, so it's completely free to end users. And you could go in and start to explore the different maps that we have, um, in our app today. Um, you could actually open it up and it'll give you the closest maps to where your geography or your location is. So here in Louisville, we have a benefit of having a lot of different, um, spaces mapped everything from the Frazier History Museum to the Kentucky Science Museum, the Muhammad Ali Center, the Louisville Airport, um, downtown library, a bunch of different venues here within our footprint, um, that you can explore and pull up in the map, um, and then use to find your way. You can also download a link or open a link to a web map, um, to get just a visual view of the map of the location. So a great example here, Jefferson Community and Technical College, um, they've been mapped their entire downtown campus, so you can explore each of the buildings, um, if you're onsite at the campus, you can navigate between those buildings and find your way along the sidewalks, um, to your destination. 

Jessica Denson (16:48):
And does it, is there an option there to say, you know, no, um, I'm visually impaired, or I have, uh, I need the closest accessible type things, or is it can be used? So yes, maybe somebody who's fully, you know, fully able bodied mm-hmm <affirmative>. With none of those issues, but also those people that you mentioned, like from, um, that may be dealing with blindness or vision impaired or vision impaired, or maybe have some, um, physical impairments that make things more difficult where they can avoid stares. It, it, it has those options in it as well. 

Theresa Reno-Weber (17:24):
It does. Yeah. We have a ton of different features baked into the app. Um, some of which you don't even have to do anything to just access. So for our blind and low vision users, um, it works seamlessly with voiceover or screen reader, which is setting on, um, a smartphone, Android, or iPhone, um, that most blind individuals have that auditorily reads off what's on their screen. Um, the directions in our system, um, have been developed with feedback from the blind and low vision community to make sure that, um, the way in which we're, uh, speaking those directions makes the most intuitive sense and is clear for individuals who are blind and low vision. But to your point about, you know, someone who might be mobility impaired or maybe just, you know, using a walker or having, you know, a stroller with them looking for accessible routes that avoid stairs.

(18:14)
There's a way to click avoid stairs in the app, just when you're getting ready to navigate to your destination. Um, and then there's also features that you can customize within the settings field of the app that enables haptics. Um, so it'll vibrate if you're falling off the path. Um, you can have the text be enhanced. Um, you can have a light mode or a dark mode depending on the contrast levels that you want for your vision. Um, and then the auditory cues if you are, um, if you're blind. But if you're, um, sighted and maybe deaf, you can also then read those directions or see a vi a visual map. Um, and then we also have augmented reality baked in, which is, is really cool for sighted users, um, to get floating arrows, um, in the viewfinder of their phone, to guide them very intuitively and seamlessly, um, to their indoor destination or their outdoor destination. 'cause that is one of the benefits of our system. It doesn't have to be limited to indoor. So at our airports or our college campuses, you know, we can take people to where the Rideshare is, um, out on the curb, or we can take them across to the parking garage, um, or across campus to another building. And so there's a lot of enhancements and features that make it, um, just a really fun, um, stress-free navigation experience. <laugh>. 

Jessica Denson (19:34):
Yeah. I, I, I imagine whenever you talk about this to people, they think, Hey, you should map this, you should map this <laugh>. Right, exactly. I, I volunteer for the YMCA and I'm like, you should map all the YMCAs. Ooh, I love it. Uh, because they're very big about accessibility at the YMCAs, and actually, I've recently taught, told them about you, just so you know. Well, thank you. 

Theresa Reno-Weber (19:51):
You I'll always take that. Yeah, I'll always take those leads and those, those introductions. Um, I joke with my team, I'm like, we want world domination, but positive world domination. <laugh>. 

Jessica Denson (20:01):
Yeah. It's pos I agree. It's positive world domination. So obviously at Connected Nation, we do a lot with digital skills training, and we care about connecting, um, people the world, you know, making sure everybody has access. How critical is it to have those two things to have help people understand how to use technology and to have that connection for things like good maps? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (20:23):
Oh, I mean, it makes all the difference in the world, right? I mean, I know, um, you know, I had a chance to sit on a panel with your CEO Tom, and we were talking about, um, you know, digital accessibility, um, and just the barrier to the digital divide that so many people face across this country where maybe they don't have access to broadband, um, to internet. Um, and it ex exclusionary. Um, but it, it keeps people out of the workforce. Um, it keeps people living a purpose and, you know, uh, successful and fruitful life. Um, it keeps kids from learning in school. Um, you know, I think the, the work that you all have done to just lay the foundation, um, for that connection, um, but also for individuals to be able to, um, live to their full potential and communities to live to their full potential.

(21:11)
And we think about that a lot, you know, from good maps, just our origin in, you know, being able to help blind and low vision individuals be able to get out of their homes and navigate independently and confidently and safely in ways that, um, can help bring them to work, um, and, and keep them in the workforce, or can help bring them to all of the phenomenal cultural things that are around them in the community in ways, um, that they can access, uh, on their own if they want to. Um, and that's not just, again, blind or low vision. We also have done user testing with our app, um, to also support folks who are deaf or low hearing who are neurodiverse or high anxiety, or PTSD. You know, a lot of folks are uncomfortable going to spaces that they don't know, um, and they wanna get that grounding and that understanding of, okay, where, where am I gonna go in? What's the <laugh>? What's gonna be the closest restroom when I get there? What's the exit plan if I need it? You know, some of it can sound paranoid, but for a lot of folks, that's just like, I want that comfort that I know what the space is gonna look and feel like before I ever go. And so we love providing that level of, um, confidence and security, um, and insight to individuals so that they can feel then more confident just being, um, and, and being included when they get there. 

Jessica Denson (22:30):
Yeah. I'm struck by the idea of that, of feeling included and not feeling the on man out, or, you know, you're already dealing with some, uh, differences than, than the average person. And then you ha you throw on that you, you, it's hard for you to navigate a space. So having something that gives you comfort in that mm-hmm <affirmative>. For all the reasons you mentioned, and probably so many more, um, you know, seniors who may be afraid to go to a new place that they don't know, but they, they would like to make new relationships. You know, I could name a million, uh, probably a, a dozen different examples mm-hmm <affirmative>. But I, I imagine that that, um, that is a powerful thing to give people the confidence to walk into a place and know, okay, if, if, if I feel fearful or if I don't understand, this is gonna help me move through this space. Do you have any great examples or stories that you've heard that you'd wanna share? Maybe one or two? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (23:26):
Yeah. No, I mean, I, I've got two recent ones that, that come to mind. Um, and it really is, uh, part of what I think drives the, the passion of my team, um, and the folks who've invested in good maps, you know, we're a startup company, and so to put this in the world and to say unapologetically that our, you know, first focus on accessibility, um, 'cause so many companies are developing for the masses, <laugh>, and yeah. And we're saying no, but we also need to not leave behind, um, you know, a, a quarter of the population globally, right? Yeah. Who has some sort of impairment, um, and that we might ourselves one day, you know, as we age, fall into the same space, right? And so, um, one of our colleagues, um, is actually a, a young man who, um, went blind in his early twenties.

(24:12)
He's been blind now for I think seven years. Um, and he's our community engagement specialist. Um, and so he gets to go and help our new customers sort of launch, um, and, you know, connect with community groups in the, in the community, um, when we do these launches. And, um, he's now been going from, you know, his home airport in Nashville to different customer locations, and he got to go up to Providence, Rhode Island, and he sent our team a Slack message because he said it was the first time since he's gone blind that he felt like is himself again. Oh, that's amazing. Because he got off the airplane and we had already mapped Providence, and, you know, over the last seven years since he had gone blind, he would have to wait for passenger assistance. Um, and, you know, passenger assistance can sometimes take a bit, um, when they finally come, what they, you know, default to most of the time for blind individuals is to put you in a wheelchair.

(25:06)
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. This is, you know, a 27-year-old young man who lost vision. I can imagine how that would feel, but doesn't necessarily need a wheelchair. Um, and, you know, then they push you through the airport and, you know, if you need to go to the bathroom, that's a thing. If you, you know, wanna stop for something that's really not in the cards, um, you know, and so the, for the first time with good maps, having mapped that airport when he landed, he said, I got off my plane. I walked, you know, to the convenience, you know, uh, you know, Hudson News or whatever, got myself a, a drink, went to the restroom and walked out to Rideshare all on my own. Um, and so he just texted our whole team and just said, you guys, you've, you've given me back, you know, who I am, a sense of who I am. Um, and that just, you know, um, gave gave us all goosebumps and, and, you know, reignited, uh, the passion for what we're doing. I will say he also, when he came back to, uh, Nashville where we've also mapped, um, he got off the plane and same thing just started going out to the Rideshare 

Jessica Denson (26:03):
<laugh> 

Theresa Reno-Weber (26:03):
And a sighted, you know, passenger who was getting off at the same time was like, oh, do you need any help? Because they saw him walking with his cane, and he's like, no, I'm good. And he's, you know, got good maps and he's just following good maps. He's, you know, listening to it through his EarPods or whatever. And he said that, they were like, well, where are you going? And he is like, oh, I'm just going out to, to Rideshare. And they were like, okay, can we follow you? <laugh> now our blind. That's awesome. Traveler is leading a sighted individual out to Rideshare. 

Jessica Denson (26:30):
Yeah. That's Fanta and well, how empowering Right. And confidence boosting and all those things. Right? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (26:37):
Yeah. That's an amazing 

Jessica Denson (26:38):
Story. You 

Theresa Reno-Weber (26:38):
Know, he's, he's had to like, you know, rely on others for so long. He was like, it was the biggest treat to be the one helping somebody navigate the airport. 

Jessica Denson (26:46):
<laugh>. That's awesome. That's amazing. That's, that is like the story of, okay, even if you did nothing else with good maps, right. Talk about changing a life 

Theresa Reno-Weber (26:57):
Yeah. 

Jessica Denson (26:57):
For good, for long term, you know, in a wonderful, beautiful way. So how do, how is Good Maps funded? Is it, are the organizations themselves where they're being mapped? Is that how it works? Since it's free to the end user? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (27:11):
That's right. And we, we can't say enough good things about the companies and, um, spaces that have decided to prioritize, um, accessibility in, in their venues. Um, and they are our customers. So, um, we charge by square footage, so, you know, smaller spaces versus larger spaces. Um, we come in and we do that mapping for them, um, and then we activate the good maps experience and they pay an annual licensing fee to keep that map posted, hosted, and live and keep that experience free to anybody who comes into their space. Um, and our customer now get, what do you, oh, go ahead. 

Jessica Denson (27:44):
Sorry about that. What do you do for updates? Do is is that regularly updated? Because, you know, some least airports I've been in, a lot of 'em are on construction. Um, I wanna know the airport thing specifically. <laugh> just, 

Theresa Reno-Weber (27:56):
Yeah. Well, in all, I mean, airports, hospitals, colleges, you know, Ben, like, they all got, um, their own unique things. But yes, airports are always changing. Um, so our customers have a couple of different ways to keep their spaces updated. One, they get a backend, um, you know, CMS system or, um, you know, customer management system where they can go in and they can say, okay, the Starbucks has changed to a Dunkin Donuts, or, you know, this women's restroom is now a family restroom. Um, so they can go in and, and update and change those things. Put re push, refresh, and it automatically updates it across the system. So that's very easy for our customers. Um, they also have the ability to, if say a new section of the airport or of the venue changes, they can take a mobile scan using an iPhone or an iPad.

(28:39)
Um, we'll send them a link, um, that they can use to, um, capture the information that's changed in the space and send it back to us. Um, and then we can just patch that update into the map. And then if it's something where they've built a whole new terminal, which we've had at airports do <laugh>, yeah. Um, we bake into the contract along their construction schedule, um, the ability to fly, to come back on site and to resurvey, um, and to add those things into their maps. So there's a number of different ways currently that we keep those maps updated and live. And then there's a lot of exciting things on the horizon, um, because we are capturing that data when we're on site, and then when our end users are using the app, that imagery is coming in to let us know where their location is. What we're excited to get to in the future is to do real time updates to the spaces as we see things have changed from what it once was to what it is today. Um, and to start being able to crowdsource some of those updates much like, you know, individuals are crowdsourcing updates on Waze or some other Oh, yeah. 

Jessica Denson (29:42):
Like where there's, there's construction or a cop or a backup mm-hmm <affirmative>. Or a, um, um, an accident or something. 

Theresa Reno-Weber (29:48):
Exactly. 

Jessica Denson (29:49):
Like it's very, very crowded today or something. Yeah. You can do all kinds of stuff, I imagine. Exactly. Yeah. Um, I'll include a link, um, to the company website and the description of this podcast for anybody who's interested in contacting Theresa. Um, but a few more questions before I let you go. Again, we talked about it's a snow day. I know you have kids at home, so <laugh> because all the schools are closed in Louisville, if there's a few inches of snow. Um, it's just the way it works here, 

Theresa Reno-Weber (30:14):
<laugh>. Yeah. Yeah. 

Jessica Denson (30:14):
Uh, our listeners up north are like, what <laugh>, but, um, is what advice or things that you have learned as you've gone through, um, setting up good maps, some, any lessons learned along the way or hardships to overcome when it comes to doing a ne new technology initiative like this? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (30:34):
I mean, I, you know, I think I definitely, technology and, and what we've seen just even in the last six months is so fascinating to me. I mean, the rapid pace of evolution and change mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, that is occurring today is, is just amazing. I mean, it is so impressive and what it is going to unlock for, I think, human flourishing, if you will. Um, not to sound too fluffy, but I mean, I just think there's, there's so much, um, possible, it's, it's really incredible. But I think what we pride ourselves on is that we are developing for and with and alongside individuals that we're hoping to benefit and serve. Um, and that, that's really critical, especially in technology. Um, there's this great, you know, term and theme of shift left. So like, bring all of that to, you know, the front end of the development and the design.

(31:27)
Don't bolt it on afterwards. Um, and so, you know, we've got, you know, blind individuals that we've hired within our company. Um, whenever we, you know, are getting ready to push out an update, we're doing a lot of, um, quality assurance and user testing and feedback, and then reintegrating that feedback into, um, our technology before it even goes live. And then once it's live, you know, continuing to take that, that feedback, um, and iterate it through. And so I think that constant iteration in technology in particular is so critical. Um, I think a lot of technologists know this and a lot of coders and developers and companies, um, are, you know, figuring out that you've just gotta keep innovating mm-hmm <affirmative>. And as a startup, that's definitely been one of our core strengths is that we are constantly trying to be on the front end, um, and constantly trying to lean in, um, but do it for populations that have been, you know, left kind of on the outside. Um, and we're seeing very clearly that when you develop for, um, you know, folks in a way that really is inclusive, it's, it helps and supports all of us. Um, and it, it gives us a better ultimate product, um, because we were so intentional at the front end. 

Jessica Denson (32:42):
Yeah. I think, I think that's, that's fantastic. The idea that you're being so intentional and, and willing to continue to develop instead of, oh, here it is. Good luck <laugh>, you know, it's important to continue that <laugh>. Um, I would be remiss if I didn't ask you about ai, you know, everybody's talking about ai, how they're in, in integrating into things. Are you looking at that as a possibility for some of what you, what you do with it? Or is it more just, is it more in tune with the, the person rather than AI technology? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (33:16):
No, no. I mean, I, I think it's hard to, um, un you know, <laugh> Yeah, unconnect the two at this point, right? Um, like that, that genie's outta the bottle. Um, and for our company, actually, AI has been incredibly, um, beneficial. You know, some of the stuff that we're doing, um, from a linguistic side, we're actually using AI to get us 90% of the way there. So our current navigation platform is, um, translated into 27 different languages today, whether that's the web platform, so you don't always have to have the app, you can use the app, but you can also just view the maps and, and, um, get route previews and things on web. Um, and that's translated into 27 different languages. We're adding more languages, you know, every two weeks basically. And we're using AI as an assistant in that, um, to be able to accelerate that development really quickly.

(34:04)
Um, we're definitely using it in our code as well. I think the things that, it took our team, you know, quite a while and a lot of people to do five or six years ago, um, our team can now do that much faster with the assistance of ai, right? So not necessarily saying not, you know, the same number of people, but the same number of people can put out more than they could have, you know, five or six years ago, which I think is just fascinating. Um, and, and helps us get better product out there more quickly. 

Jessica Denson (34:31):
It is fascinating. Uh, the ways that we u even using AI now are gonna be what we do in the coming years is gonna be phenomenal. Mm-hmm. I'm, I'm interested to see where it goes. Absolutely. So what would you like our listeners to take away about good maps today? 

Theresa Reno-Weber (34:46):
Um, I always find it fascinating that, you know, we have just for the longest time, um, especially I think in the last several years, uh, everybody that I know uses some sort of outdoor navigation tool to get anywhere, even in their own backyard, right? They gamify how long it takes them to get to work, they wanna know if there's been a, you know, road blockage. So we're using it constantly, and yet we've kind of threw up our hands and just, you know, took for granted that when we get to these big complex spaces, we've gotta muddle our way through looking at outdated signage on walls, <laugh>. Um, and so what I want everybody to know is that does not have to be how it is. Um, and for 300 venues or across 12 countries, that's not what it is, um, because they have good maps. And so, um, you know, I would love listeners to be asking for and looking for more spaces and places for good maps to bring, you know, universal accessible indoor navigation and wayfinding, um, to their community, uh, for not only their benefit, but for the benefit of all of these other populations that we've been talking about.

(35:44)
Um, so that they can also feel included, um, in participating in, in the spaces, um, and in our community in the ways that we would all want to. So, um, my ask, download the Good Maps indoor navigation app. Um, use it wherever, um, you can, and if you have spaces, whether it's your YMCA or <laugh>, your, um, local grocery store that you want, um, that technology to be, feel free to reach out to us, um, through our website, uh, and make introductions or connections, and we'd be happy to bring, um, our technology to your space. 

Jessica Denson (36:17):
My guess is every listener has got like two to five places they would want mapped <laugh>. Uh, I've got my list I'm writing down now. Well, thank you so much, uh, Theresa Reno Weber for joining us on the podcast today. 

Theresa Reno-Weber (36:32):
Thank you so much, Jessica, for having me. I, I hope you have a lovely holiday season and you too. Um, to all your listeners when they're listening to this in the new year, have a great 

Jessica Denson (36:40):
2026. Yeah. And think about when you're doing those New Year's resolutions, is this a place that needs good maps that I'm at? That's right. Exactly. This is right. Again, we've been talking with Theresa Reno Weber, the CEO of Good Maps. I'll include a link to the company website in the description of this podcast. I'm Jessica Denson. Thanks for listening to Connected Nation. If you like our show and wanna know more about us, head to connected nation.org or look for the latest episodes from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Google Podcast, Pandora, or Spotify.