How Indoor Mapping Is Changing Lives in 2020 and Beyond

When we’re traveling around outside, we’re used to being in the know. Google Maps, Waze, and other GPS services can muster up several different ways to reach our exterior destinations, whether we’re walking, driving, or going by public transport. Basically every street in the modern world has been photographed and mapped out by Google.

But what about inside?

Buildings are getting larger and more complex every year, yet the technology to map these indoor spaces is limited. There is no Google Maps for finding your way around a shopping mall, airport, or large office building. However, MappedIn has created an indoor map application that helps to improve indoor mapping and reduce friction when navigating indoors.

The Problem

Large indoor buildings with complex layouts currently have very limited navigational technology for the most part. If you’re due to have a meeting in an office you’re not familiar with, you’ll have no trouble finding the building itself… but once you’re inside, you’re forced to ask for directions and search for the right room, unsure if you’re in the right place.

This is the kind of friction we should be avoiding in 2020.

Whether it’s an airport or a hospital, there are so many indoor spaces that people struggle to find their way around. This is especially true for premises that people don’t visit on a regular basis. Yet rather than come up with a technological solution, we rely on vague physical signs and complex oral instructions from people who work there. This is not a real solution.

The Solution

Indoor mapping solutions like those from MappedIn are able to reduce friction in our everyday lives, making it easy to find where we need to go. Large, complex buildings can be internally mapped, showing the layout of the premises room by room and section by section. Maps can be divided into sections and zones, or they can be left as one large navigational tool.

Navigational features show users arrows that tell them exactly where to turn and when making it easier for them to find their destination. Rather than just showing you where the destination is on the internal map, you’ll also receive speech-like directions to further cement your understanding.

Let’s say for example that you run a business in a large office building and you’ve got an overseas consultant coming to work with you. Using your indoor mapping software or a location intelligence tool, you can give them directions on the precise floor, room, and even desk for them, granting them digital access to only the places they need to access. This removes friction for all parties and makes the process much simpler for the visiting consultant.

Real-World Applications

So, where exactly would benefit from this kind of indoor mapping software? Some premises that can (and already do) make use of this technology include:

• Hospitals
• Airports
• Bus stations
• Train stations
• Hotels & leisure centers
• Corporate campuses
• Shopping malls
• Retail spaces
• Large office buildings

Of course, the scope for this technology is limitless, but these are the organizations where navigational friction is a frequently reported bottleneck.

With indoor mapping applications, we can expect hospitals to be better organized and easier for visiting friends and family to find their way around. We can expect congestion to be reduced in airports and travel hubs as people find their gates more easily. We can expect less friction in parking lots as people’s exact spaces are recorded on their smartphones.

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