The Indoor Map: How to Create Indoor Navigation Maps

How Do Indoor Maps Work?

Companies use indoor navigation technology to map large buildings, such as shopping malls, universities, airports, and hospitals. An indoor map provides visitors with important information about the venue as well as indoor map navigation. For places that offer an indoor map application, visitors can easily download the application or open it on a web or mobile device to receive live updates in real-time. Indoor map technology combines the power of GPS with a highly accurate indoor positioning system. Indoor maps not only provide convenience for users, but also for the companies managing the property. Executives and operations managers can easily use indoor maps to make updates, guide important decisions, and plan resources and facilities accordingly. With so many cool features, one would assume, How to create indoor navigation maps, is hard and requires some sort of special map maker. This is false. 

Creating a map may seem like a daunting task, but in reality, it comes down to having the right information about your building and following a few simple steps.

This article serves as a simple guide on how to create indoor navigation maps. 

How to Create Indoor Navigation Maps

Have Clear Goals 

When creating indoor maps, it is crucial to define your goals early on so that you know what to look for in an indoor mapping solution. For example, if you want your map to be usable by employees on a mobile device or by visitors at a kiosk, make sure your map can connect to these apps with well-documented SDK and APIs. If you want to incorporate Internet of Things (IoT) data or HTML content from the web, make sure your map can pull in that information on a regular basis. 

Define Your Use Case and Understand the Benefits

Depending on your space, industry, or workforce, you might have a range of different goals for your indoor map design. Some common reasons for creating an indoor map include: 

• Better space management and planning 
• Increased productivity
• More efficient energy usage 
• Increased safety and security 
• Data collection and management
• Better visitor/user experience

Find the Best Indoor Mapping Solution

The next step in creating a map is to decide on an indoor mapping solution that best suits your needs. When choosing indoor mapping solutions, there are many things to consider: 

• Their years of experience
• The number of clients they have worked with
• Square feet mapped
• Support services provided

Initiate Your Floor Plan 

The features within different indoor navigation programs will be different. Each service provider’s process of creating indoor maps will be different however, one thing is common for all providers- your indoor 2D map (floor plan) is the basis for your indoor 3D mapping project. 

Consistency is key when it comes to creating an indoor map. When creating your indoor map make sure you create them at scale by leveraging automation. You can convert 2D maps into 3D indoor maps by digitizing all mapping data in 2D vector polygons and rendering them into 3D from multiple perspectives. 

When you’re creating an indoor map, your maps should be geo-referenced to real-world measures so that they appear “in place” and aligned with real-world coordinates. It is crucial to keep your indoor map accurate and consistent. Precise location data and accurate maps provide clarity and consistency, and save time in the future when you’re adding new details and location details. 

Locate Key Points of Interest

When getting started with your indoor location mapping, your solution should allow you to introduce Points of Interest (POIs). They fill your map with features that allow people to navigate with ease. POIs can include (but are not limited to): 

• Vending machines
• ATMs
• Payphones
• Bathrooms
• Security desks
• Elevators 

POIs can improve your indoor map and navigation experience by helping visitors to navigate quickly between areas of interest. Your indoor map can include a legend to have a symbol that represents the service, which allows users to easily locate what they need and where they can be found on the map.

Collecting Location Details 

The next step in learning how to create your own indoor navigation map is to collect all other location details for your building. If you’re creating an indoor map for a mall, you would need to collect all the shops available in your mall, categorizing them into their specific type and audience. This type of information is extremely important to help customers navigate through your shopping center. 

By creating a list of your location details, the indoor map maker service can easily upload the details onto the system. You can also make future changes with ease. 

Incorporate Your Branding

Your branding plays a huge role in the success of your indoor map. Your brand is how your visitors view your products. Make sure you can add your logo to the indoor map. This ensures the map is branded and reflects the style of your company.  In addition to your logo, you may want to consider using the same typography and colors as your brand. Mapsted Maps Studios enables users to fully incorporate their branding into their maps. 

Conclusion

Creating an indoor map provides your visitors with important information about your venue. Executives can easily use indoor maps to make updates, guide important decisions, and plan resources and facilities accordingly. With so many cool features, one would assume creating indoor maps is hard and requires some sort of special indoor map maker. This is false. There are only 6 simple steps to make your dream indoor map and the first step is to contact Mapsted for a quick demo of the technology with a purpose.