Tag: wayfinding iBeacon

More and more schools are using wayfinder kiosks. Besides building plans and directories, touch screens are useful for providing information and promoting upcoming events. They are a good way to show lesson plans, contact data and transportation schedules.

Have you ever got lost in school? You might remember your first day in college and looking for your classroom. Besides dealing with natural first day stress and anxiety, you now have to look for the right room and worry that you will be late for class.

If you don’t remember this, then maybe you have been to an university building for a seminar or a conference, looking for the right room. You don’t have the time to wonder around and first thing you do is look for a building plan.

With wayfinding software it is much easier. You will see the upcoming seminar on the screen and with just one click, you will get directed to the right room in the right building. No more searching and wondering around.

Last year we finished setting up wayfinding solution for Haapsalu Vocational Education Center. They have a lot of students who are taking distance learning courses. As students drive to school 1 or 2 times a month. They are very happy to see wayfinding screen with a timetable.

In Haapsalu Vocational Education Center, wayfinding touch-screens are actively being used to promote different events – from Christmas Party and free courses to student exhibitions or defending final thesis. In information technology classes students can build their own map and use with 3D Wayfinder software. This allows student get practice in 3D modelling and see how it can work in real life application.

For schools, colleges and universities we have educational discounts for wayfinding software licenses. Please contact us for more information.

3D Wayfinder is proud to announce our new venture in helping Global Village Dubai to map their extensive theme park. Global Village is a massive theme park, where the diversity of human culture is showcased through cuisine, entertainment, music and architecture. The destination covers over 1,600,000 m2 and contains more than 200 outlets. During the 2018 season, the venue saw more than 7 million visitors! The question then becomes, how do you help guide people through this amazing maze?

3D Wayfinder helping Global Village Dubai visitors

Luckily we have the answer. In order to make navigating as simple as possible, for the very international crowd, our solution is based on Whatsapp, the most popular messenger app globally. The guest simply needs to type in where they want to go next and they will receive in return an URL, which will direct them to our Wayfinding resource. The device’s location will be located through GPS and the quickest route to the desired destination is generated. In addition, information about the attraction will be shown, e.g opening times, upcoming events or the menu. Convenient, right?

This is simply a 2D application of our capacities. We are providing our Wayfinding solution indoors as well, where relying on GPS isn’t an option. The basic concept is still based on triangulation, but instead of using satellites we utilize Bluetooth beacons. iBeacons and Eddystones are Bluetooth low energy devices that can broadcast their identifier to nearby portable electronic devices such as mobile phones or tablets. The other option is for people to insert their current location, e.g Starbucks, and their destination. This would make finding your way through an unfamiliar airport much less of a hassle. For instance, our Wayfinding solution for Changi airport in Singapore has without a doubt saved quite a few travellers from missing their flight. This is how 3D Wayfinder team helping Global Village Dubai visitors.

Contact us now to get the wayfinding solution that will meet your needs!

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.

Now it is possible to order indoor positioning demo application. For demo we will send you required amount of iBeacons devices and create custom 2D or 3D floor plan. With 3D Wayfinder mobile application it is possible to see indoor positioning with wayfinding functionality.

iBeacons are Bluetooth low energy (BLE) devices that can broadcast their identifier to nearby portable electronic devices such as mobile phones or tablets. Also iBeacons don’t cost much and their batteries can last over year which makes them perfect for indoor positioning.

We can provide you with a custom demo map with pre-installed iBeacon locations. We will also send beacons for the demo floor plan, usually 3-6 is enough for a 1-2 room demo.  

By installing 3D Wayfinder mobile app, you can test and see iBeacon-based positioning on your real building. To order demo map with beacons, please fill the request form.

Read more about 3D Wayfinder mobile app, iBeacons and indoor positioning.