Mobile Indoor Wayfinding Application

April 3, 2013

3D Technologies is constantly improving 3D Wayfinder Mobile App. Recent updates mobile wayfinding applicationincludes pinch zooming and better search engine. Every shop or location can have keywords which makes them easy to find. Very useful for visitors, specially when they are in a hurry and want to quickly find some specific product. The application positions the visitor automatically and guides from current location to desired location with graphical route.

For the shopping center owners, simple administration makes it very easy to change tenant information ensuring the maps are always up-to-date. Retailers can place text or micro ads in real-time letting shoppers know about clearance sales or last minute bargains.

We currently support iOS and Android devices.

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Navigate the Mall with a Mobile App

March 4, 2013

3D Wayfinder, the provider of indoor navigation solutions in large public buildings, has launched a mobile application for shoppers which provides maps of all of their favorite shopping centres and details of onsite promotions direct to their smartphones. The benefits to retail site owners is that they can use this to connect with visitors and generate advertising revenue from tenants.

“Twenty-one per cent of global smartphone users (or 187 million consumers) bought a product using their smartphone in 2012 according GlobalWebIndex,” comments Taavi Juursalu CEO of 3DWayfinder. “So our solution is an obvious one for shoppers and retailers alike”.

The solution gathers all shopping centres into one database with 3D plans of each site. Users can then choose the desired centre from the list and see what they have to offer. For the shopping centre owners simple administration makes it very easy to change tenant information ensuring the maps are always up-to-date. Retailers can place text or micro or ads in real-time letting shoppers know about clearance sales or last minute bargains.

Source: http://www.retail-systems.com/rs/3D_Wayfinder.php

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3D Wayfinder at Tallinn University of Technology (TALTECH)

February 21, 2013

TALTECH (former TUT) is the first university in Estonia who is using 3D Wayfinder to help navigate students and visitors through its campus. The solution lists all lecture halls, offices, dining rooms, services and other public rooms. The solution is integrated with the  in-house personnel system so that it’s possible to search for a room or a lecturer. The 3D map contains over 1000 rooms, which are located approximately across the territory of 133 000 m².

University Campus Indoor Plan
Tallinn University of Technology Campus Map

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3D Wayfinder Launches Mobile Solution to Transform Retail Experience

February 5, 2013

Mobile indoor navigationEstonian start up 3D Wayfinder, a provider of 3D personal navigation solutions in large public buildings, has launched a mobile application for shoppers that provides maps of all of their favourite shopping centres and up to the minute details of onsite promotions direct to their smartphones. The benefits to retail site owners is that they can use this to connect with visitors and generate advertising revenue from tenants.

“21% of global smartphone users (or, 187 million consumers) bought a product using their smartphone in 2012 according GlobalWebIndex,” explains Taavi Juursalu CEO of 3DWayfinder. “So our solution is an obvious one for shoppers and retailers alike”.

The solution gathers all shopping centres into one database with 3D plans of each site. Users can then choose the desired centre from the list and see what they have to offer. For the shopping centre owners simple administration makes it very easy to change tenant information ensuring the maps are always up-to-date. Retailers can place text or micro or ads in real-time letting shoppers know about clearance sales or last minute bargains.

According to Gartner by 2015, more than 50% of all e-commerce transactions will come from some kind of mobile or tablet device, so any application that can keep customers connected to a physical retail location will be crucial to maintain the value of such a site with shoppers.

“The solution is a win-win for shoppers and site owners alike” commented Taavi Juursalu CEO of 3D Wayfinder “currently our shopping centre customers such as Viru, South Center, Farmandstredet and Jekta are all keenly evaluating this solution to enhance their current 3D kiosk based provision.”

A further benefit for shoppers and shopping centres alike is that there is no need to invest in kiosk hardware and visitors can access maps even if there’s no kiosk around.

Source:  http://c4commerce.com/3d-wayfinder-launches-mobile-solution-to-transform-retail-experience/

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Print vs. Digital

May 15, 2012

Estonian shopping centre Viru Keskus recently renewed its building directory, moving from print to digital. The printed version had 2D building plans with a list of shops on the side. Navigating and finding the right destination was time consuming and required an architect-like approach to understand the building plan. Tenants changing, grow and downsize all the time. As the shopping centre has 6 floors with 7 exits, this made it necessary to print around 10 A0 directories, to reflect each change at considerable cost.

Finding the Solution
The objective was to save on printing costs with a modern innovative solution. The shopping centre chose 3DWayfinder, a solution developed by 3D Technologies R&D that features an administration panel for managing content. Updates can be applied through the web instantly. It also has the ability to offer tenants different kinds of advertisements. The 3D maps are based on precise CAD drawings, giving an accurate overview of the property. All of these features affected the final choice.

3d Tech retail kiosk

3D Wayfinding
In total, the Estonian shopping centre occupies 85,000m² of space and attracts approximately 11 million visitors annually. Nine kiosks were delivered by ML Novator, making it the company’s largest project to date.
There were obstacles during and after the installation. 3D Tech had problems with screensaver activation. Viru Keskus had its own screensaver coded, while ML Novator monitors with SiteKiosk, which has its own screensaver. The presence of two simultaneous screensavers made the application reload every 45 seconds, forcing users to either wait 30 seconds or walk away. Eventually 3D Tech had to forbid the screensaver function in SiteKiosk.
The second problem came as a result of the application running on a web browser. As we know, every browser has a zooming option. Well, every time the user tried to zoom in it just enlarged the whole window and confused the user. In this case, 3D Tech had to forbid the browser’s zooming option. No one saw these problems in advance and thanks to quick and professional response from both parties the problems are solved. After fixing these issues, 3D Tech noticed an increase in the usage of its application. During last Christmas, the usage rose to 4 percent of visitors.

Version 2.0
3D Tech recently released a new version with many improvements and new features. In the original version, it was only possible to advertise with banners. With the new version, it’s now possible to do it in three ways. Banners are still the very first eye catchers, but when the user gets closer they notice 3D pop-ups in the 3D plan. They are dynamic – if the plan is turned, they turn also, never being lost from sight. The pop-up can be clicked for additional information on the right side, inside the menu. The third option is to advertise inside the contextual menu.
The system is very simple, if I start searching for a shop or product, the relevant destinations are returned with the ones with ads will being highlighted and placed highest. It’s now possible to get statistics about usage and count destination clicks, which ad was most popular and what visitor were unable to find. This is all really valuable information. With all of these improvements, 3D Tech intends to increase customer usage up to 10 percent.

Vision
We believe that 3D way-finding solutions have a bright future. Eyecatching 3D maps and innovative ads will encourage visitors to interact. Tenants will have more possibilities to get customers into their shop. Advertising sales have the potential to make a return on investment within one year, depending on the size of the mall and the booking rate. To further reduce costs and continue to enhance the shopping experience, we plan to launch a 3D Wayfinder mobile application in June 2012.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Original article: Kiosk Europe online

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