How Businesses Can Use AR to Give Customers Indoor Navigation
Gone are the days of hopelessly staring at a map, trying to figure out where you are and where you need to go in a building. Similar to using GPS on a road trip, consumers can now use AR (augmented reality) for indoor navigation of large buildings. Soon, convention centers, hotels, grocery stores, warehouse stores, malls, and universities will all be offering navigation on their respective apps to help customers find their way. Are you going to be one of the pioneers of this technology? Or will you be lagging?
How Will Indoor Navigation Make Our Lives Easier?
We Will Use AR in Stores
Imagine going to your favorite big-box home improvement store. You need sprinkler head replacements but have no idea where to find them. Currently, you would probably have to hunt down an employee, ask them for the aisle number, find it out of 50+ aisle numbers, and then look up and down the aisle for sprinkler parts.
In the future, however, all you’ll need to do is open the retailer’s AR app, search for the product, hold up your phone camera, and voila! A fancy 3D arrow will appear in the camera window, pointing you in the right direction. The same concept applies to any store with a plethora of products.
We Will Use AR in Warehouses
Maybe your company doesn’t have a large store location, but perhaps you have a warehouse for product storage or fulfillment. Wouldn’t it be nice if your employees could see the location of every single product on a map and get directions for where to find it? Indoor navigation will save your warehouse workers time and reduce mistakes.
How Does Indoor Navigation Work?
The technology used for indoor navigation is very different from the technology used for GPS. GPS satellite imaging can’t penetrate walls; even if it could, the locator wouldn’t be accurate enough to determine exactly where you are in a building.
There are a couple of different ways to provide AR navigation to your customers, and the most practical way is via Wi-Fi round-trip time (RTT). Without getting into the technical jargon, you can use your existing Wi-Fi system to determine the position of people using the AR app around the store. The app can determine someone’s position within three to six feet of accuracy if you have at least three routers.
The Technology for Indoor Navigation is Only Improving
Although Wi-Fi RTT is the best option for indoor navigation at this time, technology will continue to advance. For example, ultra-wideband (UWB), which is used to track packages or items in a warehouse, has the potential to optimize accuracy for indoor navigation apps.
How Can I Use AR to Work for My Company?
You might be wondering how AR can work for your business. The Realizers are here to help you take advantage of this growing technology. We can provide your customers with 3D visualization on your own professional AR app. We have figured out how to streamline this process so it’s less expensive than hiring a photographer. Contact us with questions! Let us make your business’ AR dreams a reality!
