![]() The downside is they are less accurate, locating the user within a range of five metres to 15 metres – and the signals can be weak and sometimes disappear altogether. Existing Wi-Fi hotspots, for example, can be used as a signal for indoor positioning. The other downside is the cost of installing enough beacons to make the system work across buildings that are large enough for people to need navigation in, such as the 2,000 needed for Gatwick Airport. And some people, for example those with certain disabilities, find it hard to use smartphone apps to navigate. Of course, virtual wayfinding can’t completely replace physical signs because there is always the chance the system could go down or the users’ phone batteries could run out. Measuring the number of signals going from each beacon to nearby devices could help building security staff better understand the flow and numbers of people in indoor areas. The technology could also one day help with security and crowd control. Some shopping malls have already started to use the technology to direct customers to certain coffee shops in the morning and to food outlets at lunchtime. Instead it can send users through more pleasant routes – or more commercially viable ones that pass more shops. ![]() The technology allows for very accurate positioning, the beacons are able to locate to within a 3 metre range, versus a range of up to five metres for GPS (outside).īut the technology can do more than simply guiding users from A to B as quickly as possible. A large number of these devices is needed to map every corner of a big indoor location such as an airport – in the case of Gatwick Airport, 2000 such beacons have been deployed. They are relatively cheap individually, costing anything from £20 to several hundred pounds each. These beacons are relatively small, about the size of an adult human hand. The device can then place a blue dot (or equivalent) on the on-screen map to pinpoint the user’s location, or even use augmented reality technology to display virtual signposts telling the user where to go. The best solution developed so far to map large indoor spaces is to place a series of beacons inside the building that send out signals to devices such as smartphones to tell them where they are. Roofs and walls often interfere with the satellite signals, making the positioning system notoriously inaccurate indoors, if not impossible. Most smartphone users are now so used to GPS that it can be frustrating to find there’s no similar way to navigate once inside a large building. ![]() We could soon see this “blue dot” technology being used in more and more large commercial buildings, such as shopping malls and conference centres, to help us find the quickest route to a destination – but also to steer us into spending more money. The London airport has recently installed a wayfinding system that works like a kind of indoor GPS to direct customers around the building using their smartphones. Gatwick Airport is hoping you’ll never get lost on the way to catch a flight again.
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