PedNav

map
map 2
map 3

Inspiration

Our inspiration for this project actually stemmed from the cold commute prior to DemonHacks 2026 starting. After some research, we quickly discovered and explored a part of the Chicago Pedway system, before the 6:00 pm CDM building closure last night. During our discovery/exploration process, we decided to interview 20 locals while standing outside of the Grant Park North entrance into the Pedway, to see if the general public actually knew about the system. We weren't surprised by our findings, as 80% of the Chicagoans we interviewed did not know about the Pedway.

What it does

PedNav is an indoor AR navigation app for the Chicago Pedway. Users:

Select a starting location and destination
- The system computes the shortest path underground
- The AR camera opens
- A floating arrow guides them in the correct walking direction
- The HUD displays live distance, steps, and estimated time of arrival (similar to Apple Maps or Google Maps)
- Waypoints advance as the user moves Because GPS is unreliable underground, the app uses:
- A prebuilt graph of the Pedway
- Compass-based direction calculations
- AR Foundation for visual guidance ## How we built it Map Representation We modeled the Chicago Pedway as a graph:
- 361 nodes (landmarks, junctions, entrances)
- 365 edges (walkable connections) Stored in JSON. Each node contains:
- Name Pixel coordinates (on the display), correct Latitude/Longitude coordinates on the map. ## Challenges we ran into Pathfinding: Building nodes that were unconnected, did not register to the pathfinding to the pedway system. AR: Incompatibility with the kernel between Android and iOS. ## Accomplishments that we're proud of Developed working protypes for an offline navigation system, fully supported with an interactive GUI and an AR system that accurately paths within a prespecified map, compatible with iOS AND Android Operating Systems. ## What we learned
- How SatNav applications function
- How to develop the various portions of a SatNav system ## What's next for PedNav Our goal for this DemonHacks, and for our application "PedNav" is to make Chicago's Pedway system more digitally accessible, well known, and integrated into Chicago culture, with the ultimate goal being that the Pedway becomes as well known as the El. This can achieved through promotion from the CTA (by adding additional audio recordings that includes the closest entry to the pedway), incorporating more blocks of the loop/downtown into the pedway system and refurbishing old sections of the pedway to achieve a brand new aesthetic, allowing for the reopening of the various shops that the Pedway housed a couple years ago.