Tag: 3D software

How to create DIY 3D wayfinding maps? It is not that hard as it may sound.

Following post will give you an overview on how to create 3D models for wayfinding software. In addition we will share you videos of the modeling process.

Here are some general guidelines to keep in mind:

Maintain a clean quad topology and keep poly count low, no need for edge beveling and subdivisions, when the situation does not require it.

The floor, outer walls, inner walls, details, locations, stairs, elevators, locations and greyed out areas must be separate objects, please do not combine them into one.

Its also recommended to group objects of the same kind and name them accordingly.

The following videos will show some tips and tricks to make your workflow faster.

The solidify modifier will help you create quick walls for your model. You can either first model the walls and then apply solidify or do it the other way around.

Using the Archimesh addon (comes with Blender) you can make great looking stars with just a couple of moves.

NB! When you are in the process of cleaning up your Blender file like shown above, sometimes the spare material doesn’t disappear after using the purge function. If that happens then just restart your Blender project.

For a more in-depth guide go to Blender Modeling Tutorial.

Read more about modelling guidelines.

We hope you got a better understanding of how to create 3D wayfinding maps.

As always we are pleased to help you for creating a wayfinding solution for you or your customer. If you like us to make the maps, please also look our floorplan campaign and don’t hesitate to contact us.

This summer we have big discount campaign for our new and old clients. It is best time to order 3D
wayfinder for your kiosk or update your old maps to new and exciting ones. This is a truly an opportunity you can’t miss out!

3D Wayfinder campaign starts: 10th May and last till 1st of September.

Campaign conditions: when you order 3D or 2D map you will get our software free for a one
whole year or get huge discount from our lifetime license. We have also not forgotten our loyal
clients! If you want to update your old map we will offer you discounts like SaaS software license
for free entire year. Or, huge discount if you are lifetime license owner and want to update old maps.

For new clients we will offer:

• for SaaS solution 1 year free license;
• for lifetime license we have -900$ discount.

Interested to update your wayfinder map:

• want to update your old maps then please contact sales and we guarantee free software for 1 year;
• for lifetime license owners we have great option to update old 2D map to 3D map or
  update your old 3D maps to premium maps with 35% discount. Let’s give a new life to your
  wayfinder kiosks!

3D Wayfinder map update conditions:

• 2D map ➜ 3D lite, standard or premium;
• 3D lite map ➜ 3D premium;
• 3D standard map ➜ 3D premium.

Find out the difference between 3D lite, standard and premium HERE

Looking more information before making decision

• Check out our manual and user account possibilities HERE. You can discover more about navigation, projects, floor, materials, textures, locations, groups, 3D floor plan editor and project settings.
• Find out how to get started with 3D floor plan creation HERE. You will learn about 3D maps, material and models.
• Need help? Our tutorials are HERE. For example you can find out how to setup 3D Wayfinder app for kiosks.

Ready to order?

New clients please will our quote HERE
Already a client contact us at sales@3dwayfinder.com

3D Wayfinder R&D AS has successfully completed as many as 200 projects a round the world. Below map gives you just small glimpse where you can find our work. Find out how hospital wayfinding software works.

Opportunity to work with clients globally has been beneficial to us all. Making our team stronger in 3D wayfinding software development and helping our clients to conquer their challenges. From the knowledge we have gathered we have now good insight what direction wayfinder software can grow in future.

Today, we see rising demand for solutions in healthcare sector. Larger city hospitals have grown to huge building complexes and provide rooms for hundreds of patients at a time. Some medical services are provided in one building and other services in different building. Patients who are staying short time and patients from rural areas are the first ones to discover these difficulties. Finding right cabinet from that maze can be long and challenging event.

How are we going to improve healthcare through wayfinding?

For hospitals we have taken already steps to improve our 3D wayfinder software. “3D Hospital Wayfinder and Management System” has been supported by Estonian-Norway joint-programme Norway Grants “Green ICT programme”. Project timeline is August 2020 till July 2023. Project’s focus is on developing web-based software service for healthcare operations, example hospitals. Like facility’s floor-plan visualization in 3D with universal API for collecting different real-time data and showing it in 3D floor-plans.

More details you can find HERE.

Hospital wayfinding software example

Our project in Poland is a great example how large hospitals can really be. As you can see below picture it is not an easy task to find right location there. The use of the stairs is not possible for a person in a wheelchair. To tackle this issue we have created opportunity to use multiple direction routes.

We can’t forget that there are people who do not want to touch kiosks for health reasons or are located in different part of hospital, where there is no self-service kiosks. To tackle this issue we have created QR code based wayfinder solution. Scan QR code with your smartphone and use your device like kiosk. All the functions you get from large self-service kiosk you get in your smart device.

If you have more questions about the software we are happy to talk!

Contact us here!

The Corona epidemic has far reaching consequences in all sectors. Everything from the obvious health, economic to social issues are influenced. However there are also many smaller matters that aren’t immediately apparent. For instance, the role of touch screens and kiosks in the spread and stopping of the pandemic.

Kiosks during the Corona Pandemic

The use of kiosks during the Corona pandemic is a double edged sword. Since SARS-CoV-2 can spread through direct contact with other people, social distancing is highly advisable. However life must go on and everything can not be done online. Many jobs can not be done from a home office. Sometimes seeing the doctor in person is unavoidable. Therefore we need new solutions that allow us to conduct certain transactions without human contact, for example paying for products and services, printing prescriptions, asking for directions. These are all things that kiosks can be utilized for. However using touch-screen kiosks could in fact help spread the virus, if not done properly.

One way to make the kiosks safer would be to sanitize them in regular intervals. That however would be redundant as popular locales will have people using kiosks constantly. Placing a hand sanitizer bottle also may not be enough as not everybody cares enough about their own and other’s health.

Making Kiosks Safe Again!

One ingenious solution comes from Freetouch. This solution allows users to access touchscreens without ever touching it. The user can click, drag, scroll throughout the display just as they would with a laptop. This means that companies don’t need to make any additional investments in an already uneasy time. Also, the solution is quite Eco-friendly as there are no hand sanitizers or personal protective equipment being used!

A novel solution like Freetouch might be a bit confusing for some people, who just want to carry on as they did before the pandemic. Thankfully there are ways to make the screens of kiosks themselves kill bacteria. Many companies now have come forth with anti-microbial coating for touch screens. This coating can be added to touch screens without installing a completely new kiosk.

Voice activated kiosks are also an option of course. This kind of solution also makes kiosks more accessible for people who may not be ale to use touch screens because of a disability.

Investing In the Future

These are just some examples of human ingenuity overcoming the difficulties created by the current pandemic. The thing to remember is that this will not be the last pandemic to hit our global community. The investments we make in our safety will pay dividends for generations to come. Making the world more accessible through wayfinding and self-service kiosks will help curb unnecessary costs for enterprises and help keep us safe.

Our goal at 3D Wayfinder has always been to bring affordable products and services, without sacrificing quality. Accordingly, we have made a few updates in our 3D model rendering. We are constantly updating our software to enhance your experience and to stay competitive in the venue management and digital signage market.

Like in motion pictures, computer graphics create images at a certain frequency – frames per second (FPS). This dictates how we perceive motion and the smoothness of it. For example, early silent films had a FPS of about 16-24. This was enough to give a lifelike representation of movement, that would amaze people. Our usual frame rate is 30 FPS, because anything larger is unnecessary. In addition, FPS also affects the performance of the devices that process it. Obviously, the higher the FPS and the level of detail, the more resources a device has to allocate to display it.

Our 3D models have a varied level of detail, according to the client’s wishes. For instance, a 3D model of a hospital can contain chairs, people and beds with pillows and blankets.

More Detailed Shadows Without Reducing Performance

In order to reduce pressure on the device’s GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) we have stopped the rendering of shadows for every frame. The position of a theoretical sun in the model is always the same. Therefore the shadows stay the same as well. There is no need to waste resources on rendering shadows again and again. The shadows still change according to the number of floors displayed. This allows the device to save energy and use it’s processing power for other needs.

Moreover, we added an option to increase the level of detail for shadows. Until now we used a 2048×2048 image for shadows, which is fine for smaller projects. Now it is possible to increase size from our settings page depending on the hardware capabilities of your project. This doesn’t reduce the device’s performance in a significant way, but does offer a more realistic experience.

These might be a small changes, but we believe that fine-tuning details like these make us the market leader!

Big office buildings can be extremely complicated for anybody – visitors, workers and even building managers. To avoid getting lost and wasting time, 3D wayfinding software in office buildings is a perfect solution for navigating your way thru there and finding the right location.

Accessibility is a big deal in business corporations and a simple system is the best way to keep customers and visitors satisfied. Lately, we had a chance to develop a wayfinding platform to an office complex. That has 5 different buildings and the biggest one of them about 30 stories. It is very difficult to find the right room among dozen of different rooms. With 3D Wayfinder software, it is now easier to find the right directions. Also, 3D model gives an extra value with a better overview of the whole complex. We think that wayfinding software in office buildings is the only right decision.

It is easy to inform customers through the software. For example, transport times, weather reports or local news can be displayed on the screen. Most importantly, this wayfinding solution gives the extra value for office building. Also, it improves the customer experience. Thanks to 3D Wayfinder modular architecture it is easy to implement new features. Therefore, we are ready to hear what would you like to integrate to your wayfinding solution.

Also, you can read more about 3D Wayfinder solutions of office buildings.

To get more information, contact us now and we will find the best solution for your office building.