Augmented Reality Indoor Navigation

Augmented Reality / Indoor Navigation / Airport

Navigation systems have been widely used in outdoor environments. Even so, indoor navigation systems are now becoming increasingly relevant. Augmented-reality-based indoor navigation can assist people find their way in indoor environments, and the application can be easily implemented on electronic devices such as a smartphone, tablet or AR eyewear.

AR wayfinding merges physical and digital navigation. As a result, it can create an effective and comprehensive system. Using AR to overlay data over real-world objects, businesses are developing apps to guide users in unfamiliar areas to exactly where they need to be.

Edge Realities with its AR Navigation feature can allow a user to navigate complex venues quickly, creating the optimum in-venue experience. Users can navigate through either short or complicated routes and with additional information or offers along the way to their destination.

Moreover, Edge Realities can be used without having any hardware installations on site, and the system allows for natural arrow navigation and the creation of simple 2D graphics, gifs, videos, or more complex 3D objects.

Used as an indoor wayfinding aid, Edge Realities can be better than signage or a paper map in terms of shorter navigation time and lower workload. Whether navigating people or tracking industrial vehicles, the Edge Realities AR Navigation feature is a device-agnostic solution.

Edge Realities for AR indoor wayfinding and turn-by-turn navigation can help pave the way for any venue to enhance their visitor’s overall experience.

Industry:

Logistics & Warehouse
Shopping Malls
Cultural Institutions
Airport Industry
Public Institutions

Scope:

AR
3D Modelling
UX

 

Challenge

Indoor navigation has gained popularity recently. In short, this is due to its potential to be used in the increasing complexity of indoor environment.

Businesses of all shapes and sizes, from shopping malls to airports are incorporating technologies like touchscreens and interactive kiosks to supplement existing or demanded methods for indoor navigation. While touchscreen, signage and maps do help, these solutions do not solve the problem of people getting confused or lost in huge indoor complexes.

Besides, most of the navigation guidance for the indoor environments still relies on non-interactive signage and floor plan to move around a complicated structure.

Not surprisingly, this is where Augmented Reality can play a pivotal role in the future of indoor wayfinding.

Indoor navigation using augmented reality employs interior features to determine the user’s location and provide navigation instructions. With the prevalence of smart mobile devices and more location-aware applications, indoor navigation systems can become highly valuable for personal uses. For instance, applications in industries such as travel, retail, entertainment, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Our Edge Realities system can be employed as a navigating system that uses a person’s mobile device to determine the location and find appropriate routes. Based on edge computing and a distributed SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) algorithm, our system can be employed for indoor navigation in any indoor setting, large or small.

Additionally, the unique mapping feature of Edge Realities is especially useful in situations with complex intersections or moments where GPS is not an option. Battery-powered BLE beacons are unnecessary with our solution, thus reducing costs and eliminating placement, mounting, added maintenance, replacement, etc.

Solution

Part of the magic of our Edge Realities system is that it can map interior features to determine a user’s location. Next, it can provide real-time AR navigation instructions on a personal smart device.

The system’s indoor navigation functionality allows for industrial surroundings, airports, railway stations, hospitals, large shopping malls, cruise ships, office buildings, museums and other public venues to become a “smart” spaces. In essence, one that is easy to navigate, no matter how vast or complex. Plus, venue owners can benefit by renting digital twin marketing space.

Using the Edge Realities AR Navigation feature, turn-by-turn navigation and wayfinding can help people get around quickly and easily. What’s more, it can provide additional information for visitors as well as guide them to the desired locations.

And, our system can display detailed information on important points of interest. For many markets such as retail, airport terminals and cultural institutions, there can also be interesting real-time visitor services available. In fact, the possibilities are endless.

The Edge Realities Indoor Navigation solution can be ready to use in many places.

Train stations can guide visitors to a platform track and inform regarding delays and track changes.

Navigation in industrial areas for drivers of floor conveyors and facility management teams.

Big trade shows and events are hard to navigate for visitors, exhibitors, contractors and logistic partners. Instead, visitors can be routed through similar category booths and provided with additional information in augmented reality about booth exhibitors.

For employees in large offices, the facility layout and the booking of meeting rooms can be useful functions.

Customers who go to large shopping malls want to find the shortest route to the product they are looking for. Thus, routes can be set up to show visitors additional upsell and cross selling items, products and services. Similarly, a car finder may also be a useful feature.

How about sprawling and massive airline terminals? The countless boarding gates and shops can make any visitor stressed and confused:

We tested the Edge Realities solution in a simulated physical airport environment. Our system with AR-based navigation can provide usability advantages in large and complex indoor locations, particularly where targets are located on different floors.

In addition, one of the novel features implemented includes the ability to identify best routes free of potential hazards such as obstacles and ramps—this result demonstrates how our solution can provide support indoor navigation for wheelchair individuals. Indeed, this important value can provide safe and effective improvements in terms of social inclusion.

Edge Realities and its Indoor Navigation feature can be deployed across many industries. The system has the market advantage of being easy to use, multilingual and efficient for any operator to manage. Truly, Edge Realities is the next step for any business that wants their premises to be easily found by visitors or customers.






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