Tag: navigation software

In 3D Wayfinder Admin, tags can be added to every location. This feature should not be seen as a small detail. Stronger location search can be built with well-added tags. Better search results can also be delivered to visitors with less effort. The importance of 3D Wayfinder tags can be seen most clearly in shopping centers. In these projects, stores are often searched by product type. Exact brand names are not always remembered by visitors. Because of that, general keywords are usually entered into mall guide search. A visitor may search for dresses, shoes, or jackets. Another visitor may search for cosmetics, electronics, or coffee. If those terms have been added as location tags, correct results can be shown faster. The search engine can then be supported with better keyword coverage. As a result, the right location can be found more easily.

Tags Are Essential in Shopping Center Search

The value of tags is especially clear in shopping center search. Large centers usually contain many different tenants. Similar products may be offered by several stores. Because of that, search precision should be improved wherever possible. Visitors are rarely guided by store lists alone. Needs are usually searched first. A parent may search for children’s shoes. A customer may search for formal wear. Another person may look for gifts or accessories. These searches can only be matched well when the right tags have been added.

When strong location tags are used, mall guide search becomes more helpful. The building directory can then respond to natural search behavior. Visitors do not need to know every tenant name. Instead, useful results can be shown from simple keywords. This creates a smoother and more intuitive experience.

Bulk Tag Entry Has Made 3D Wayfinder Admin Faster

Tag management has now been made much easier in 3D Wayfinder Admin. Multiple tags can now be added at once by copying and pasting them together. This improvement has made the process faster and more practical. Earlier, tags could only be added one by one. That method was slow and repetitive. It was especially inefficient in larger shopping center projects. When many stores had to be updated, unnecessary manual work was created.

Now, as many tags as needed can be entered in one action. Large keyword lists can therefore be added much faster. Seasonal updates can also be handled more easily. New tenants can be prepared with less effort. Existing locations can be optimized in a more efficient way.

3D Wayfinder tags should be treated as an important part of search quality. They help the search engine understand what each location offers. They also help visitors find places through natural keywords. This is especially important in shopping center search, where tenant names are not always known. When strong tags are added to every location, stronger mall guide search can be achieved. That is why 3D Wayfinder tags should be included in every well-managed project. Start your own Wayfinder today!

We have build many wayfinding solutions for hospitals. Hospitals have more options than refugee camps. Refugee camps are usually underfunded and over-crowded. This creates new set of challenges completely different to hospitals. Navigating refugee camps with 3D Wayfinder software is easy and avaible for everyone who have smartphone. Read more about wayfinding software for refugee camps.

First you can not set up self-service touch kiosks in refugee camp. Because it is expensive and easy to vandalize. Traditional maps can be confusing and difficult to position yourself there. Our team has discussed this a lot. Especially now, when we have crisis in Ukraine. More than 3 million people have escaped Ukraine mainly through Poland.

Luckily smartphone prices have gone down in last 5 years and are wildly used even rural conflict areas. It is not uncommon to see at least one refugee family member with smartphone. This one piece of technology is what we can use to refugee advantage in these large camps.

3D Wayfinder software is HTML-based so any smart device is more than enough to use it. We have developed easy to use QR code based solution to position your self inside the camps and our software guides you to needed destination. QR is cheap and if there is no need for investments on touch screens/self-servicing kiosks it will bring price down significantly for organizations that manage these refugee camps.

QR-code based wayfinding software for refugee camps

The idea itself is simple, organizations provide refugees on camps with Wifi or 4G through local telecom service providers. Tents are given code/name and provided with QR code stickers. Refugee scans it to open software and automatically positioning them self. Then selecting via search or from list the tents code/name and get live direction to their destination. Vital location are highlighted for quick selecting in software. If they still get lost they can scan near by tents QR code and get new direction from there. We can provide 2D maps of the area and tents through aerial photos. It reduces the human labor to map the camp on site. This solutions is still under development and all ideas to improve it are warmly welcome!

Let us build better future for us in cities and for people who are forced to be refugees!

We have finished installation of approximately 250 iBeacons for mobile app positioning. Although the installation process is easy. There are some tricks and common practises to follow, when setting up iBeacon based indoor positioning.

iBeacons installation

iBeacons are cost effective indoor positioning devices, that are really easy to install. As each iBeacon has it’s own battery, that can last about a year, then there is no need for external power supply. Devices are very light, so it is possible to mount them by using double-sided tape.

Even though the installation of one iBeacon is a simple matter. Overall installation process can be quite long and somewhat physically exhausting due to the constant climbing up and down the ladder/platform.

At first glance it might seem that the device will disrupt the look of the building. But, as we can see from the image below, if you take into consideration the overall theme and look of the building during choosing of the device, it merges into the plethora of different sensors and equipment covering the ceiling.

Before installing devices. It is important to mark down the specifications for each iBeacon device. Each iBeacon has it’s parameters: unique ID, name and range.

It is also a good practice to mark the iBeacons. So that you know you’re installing the correct device to the correct location. For this we used a label printer.

Plan before iBeacons installing

It is good to have a plan before physical installation. We used the map of the building to first draw a layout of the placement of the devices and their coverage area. It is a common practice to have a minimum of 3 iBeacons covering any part of the mappable area for the navigation to work efficiently.

Configuring iBeacons in 3D Wayfinder is also easy. Just create a node with type “iBeacon” and enter iBeacon parameters (UUID, Name etc.). To manage all the devices from one place, open “Beacons” from the left-side menu. You can do this prior to the actual installation when you are confident that your layout will work.

It is highly recommended to install the iBeacons to a height unreachable for the visitors of the building, so no one could easily snatch them. We installed the devices onto the ceiling. For this we used a painters platform that had wheels on them so it is easy to move it around the building. We recommend setting the platform to a height so the person installing the devices could stand up straight and then reach the ceiling without having to stretch too much.

Good time to install iBeacons in a shopping mall is when there are not that many people.

Here you can find more information about using iBeacons with 3D Wayfinder. If you’d like to test iBeacon-based positioning, please submit the request form for demo iBeacons.

We have added compass widget for Developers Template. Compass arrow can be shown on top of the map canvas to point to the north (or any other direction) of the 3D floor plan.

Compass is one of the tools and widgets that is needed for one of our larger building information (BIM) project. There are also other tools under development that provide building information and help work with different data related with building 3D model.

Compass widget is using 0-point of the Y-axis. It is called with Camera view-port service orbitController.  It has property currentRotation, which holds the model’s rotation data.  Needle of compass is animated using that data.
Compass example is integrated into Development template. Template can be accessed via the administration panel at admin.3dwayfinder.com when selecting the view with template “DevTemplate”.

When using compass, it is important to notice, that the 3D floorplan has to be modelled north pointing to Z axis. Otherwise you need to make adjustments in widget’s javascript code, which calculates the compass’ position.

According to Google, self-service is becoming the new norm – 1 in 3 shoppers use their smartphones to find information instead of asking the store employees. 74% of adult smartphone owners aged 18 and older say that they use their phones to get directions or other information based on their current location. (Source: Pew Internet)

Way finding outdoors is easy, because there are so many different navigation softwares guided by the GPS. But people also need an indoor wayfinding solution because buildings nowadays have become very complicated. There is a great need for a simple indoor wayfinding solution for mobile devices. Therefore we offer 3D Wayfinder mobile app for Android and iOS. Soon it will be available on Windows Phone as well. It helps people to navigate indoors and get the latest deals. It is a tool for retailers to advertise their brand or product on the map. The solution has many benefits: