Indoor Mapping
Definition
Indoor mapping digitizes the inside of buildings into navigable floor aware geospatial data. It encodes rooms, corridors, stairs, elevators, hazards, utilities, and points of interest with relationships across levels. Because GPS performs poorly indoors, positioning relies on Wi Fi, BLE beacons, ultra wideband, or visual markers. Standards such as IndoorGML and floor aware GeoJSON support integration with existing GIS. Well designed indoor maps respect privacy, handle restricted spaces, and include accessibility attributes like door widths and ramp grades. Egress modeling benefits from accurate door swing, occupant load, and signage locations. During events, temporary partitions or exhibits should be captured quickly to prevent navigation errors. Privacy reviews determine what detail can be shared with visitors versus internal staff. Integrations with building sensors create soft digital twins that show occupancy counts and equipment status. Analytics should be aggregated and anonymized, since continuous tracking of individuals raises ethical concerns.
Application
Facility managers plan maintenance and safety drills, airports guide passengers to gates, hospitals route equipment and staff, universities manage space allocations, and event venues power wayfinding apps. Emergency responders use indoor maps to plan entry, locate utilities, and coordinate evacuations. Retailers analyze footfall and optimize merchandising while keeping personally identifiable data protected.
FAQ
How do we maintain a single source of truth as buildings change?
Integrate BIM or CAD models with a GIS database and establish change workflows with approvals. Periodic reality capture with lidar or video validates updates.
What is essential for accessible wayfinding?
Attributes for slopes, door clearance, step count, and lift availability, plus routing profiles for wheelchairs, strollers, and low vision users.
Can indoor positioning work without beacons?
Visual inertial odometry and magnetic signatures enable beaconless approaches, but accuracy varies. Hybrid methods often give the best user experience.
How should security be handled?
Role based access to sensitive areas, on device location processing where possible, and anonymization of analytics to prevent tracking of individuals.