Img Source - Vitalii Bielushenko
Indoor navigation has long been a challenge for people navigating complex spaces such as shopping malls, airports, and large office buildings. Traditional maps and signs are often uninformative, leaving visitors confused. With technological advancements, companies and their clients now have a simpler and more convenient way to navigate indoor spaces - indoor navigation with blue dots, which is used in various areas. This article explores the features of this system and discusses one of the technologies used for it – AR.
What is Augmented Reality (AR)?
Augmented reality is an innovative system that displays the real world with overlaid digital information on a screen. When used in indoor navigation, the program overlays virtual elements (such as pointers and arrows) onto the image captured by the user's smartphone camera.
The main components of an AR-based platform are:
- A scanned indoor map with a navigation system and the ability to localize objects in space.
- Displaying directions as pointers or text on the map using augmented reality technology.
The system uses visual markers that users can scan with their mobile devices to quickly create a route from point A to point B. Here's a step-by-step look at how it works:
- Considering the chosen indoor navigation implementation technology, the necessary infrastructure is installed on the premises. This includes technical setup and installation of markers, QR codes, beacons (if needed), or other sensors.
- After implementation, the user must use a mobile device with a camera and screen, such as a tablet or smartphone.
- Using the mobile device, the user can plot a route to points of interest. All navigation instructions are displayed on the smartphone screen. The user sees the surrounding world on their device, allowing him to move quickly without fearing obstacles.
Despite its broad capabilities, the global positioning system is not recommended for indoor navigation. Building walls prevent satellites from transmitting strong enough signals to penetrate indoor spaces and provide accurate location determination. In other words, GPS complicates indoor space mapping and is not used in augmented reality.
Technologies Used in AR-Based Indoor Navigation Systems
Indoor navigation using Augmented Reality operates on various technologies. Commonly used technologies include:
- Built-in mobile sensors for detecting electromagnetic fields: These use electromagnetic fields within the premises to localize and calculate routes. Since magnetic fields can be influenced by various external factors (such as distortions from "soft" and "hard" iron), the system requires regular monitoring.
- Bluetooth® LE: This involves using special beacons that periodically send out radio signals with unique identifiers. The pulses are captured by readers and processed on servers to determine the location of a person or object. To achieve high navigation accuracy, many sensors must be used.
- Wi-Fi: This leverages existing infrastructure, capturing radio fingerprints from access points to determine locations with an accuracy of a few meters. It is widely used in public spaces with many Wi-Fi access points.
- QR codes: These allow for a navigation system without deploying additional infrastructure. By placing QR codes in various building locations, the mobile device can accurately determine the user's position upon scanning a specific code.
- Markers: Placed in different areas of buildings, these provide access to location information. The camera on a mobile device is used to determine their position. This technology is accurate and cost-effective, making it a suitable solution for implementation in industrial settings.
Where Can You Utilize AR Indoor Navigation
AR-based indoor navigation solutions are ideal for large buildings with multiple floors, corridors, and wings. The platform is effective for the following:
- Shopping Malls: The program can create step-by-step instructions for moving to specific stores or items. The system is also used for marketing research, such as determining how long shoppers stay in particular stores.
- Warehouses: Navigation software enhances the safety of people and assets, improves fleet management, and increases enterprise profitability.
- Offices: The system helps quickly find conference rooms, offices, and desks and determines the availability of specific rooms. AR navigation can also be used to locate office devices.
- Airports: Modern airports can span hundreds of meters, making navigating challenging for visitors. The platform helps people quickly find important points like check-in counters or boarding gates.
- Universities: Navigation helps quickly reach necessary buildings, campuses, and classrooms. Additionally, the system provides information about building operations to coordinators or facility managers.
Advantages of Indoor Navigation Using AR
AR navigation can be a valuable solution for any enterprise. Here are several reasons why it should be integrated into your company's infrastructure:
- Ease of use: The program provides clear real-time instructions. Indicators on the screen and sounds or texts that appear when a visitor reaches a specific point can be used for orientation.
- Improved user experience: The system enhances visitor experiences, encouraging desired actions (such as purchasing in stores along the way).
- Real-time route building: The platform plots a route in seconds and at a specific time. This allows users to interact more efficiently with their environment, saving time for more important tasks.
- Assistance for people with disabilities: The system can create voice instructions for visually impaired individuals. This enables visitors with disabilities to navigate the space as effectively as everyone else.
- Increased accuracy: The system determines object locations with millimeter precision, which is much more effective than traditional Wi-Fi, which positions with an accuracy of about 5 meters. Additionally, the platform can update in real-time, selecting the most convenient and shortest path to points of interest.
- Integration with other systems: AR-based indoor navigation can easily integrate with various libraries and tools, facilitating the implementation of augmented reality in the web environment.
Navigine’s AR-Based System
Navigine offers users an innovative product: indoor navigation based on QR codes with augmented reality. The essence of the program is that the route is displayed on your mobile phone screen using 3D graphics in real space. To obtain this image, the user simply scans the QR code before them with their mobile device camera. The system instantly determines the location and displays the route in two formats – in 3D or on a digital map.



AR navigation system interface
The technology supports route correction via QR codes, shows the distance to the destination, and provides tips. Unlike traditional digital map-based navigation systems, the platform can display the route in 3D and visualize digital content such as advertisements or information about an object. Its use optimizes routes to points of interest and gamifies the user's visit.

The Future of Indoor Navigation and AR
It is necessary to properly formulate the goals of its implementation when using augmented reality navigation. No current technology provides enough accuracy to offer navigation similar to science fiction. However, this does not mean it will always be this way. Every year, new software products emerge, advancing this field.
For instance, some companies already use room scanning technologies that simplify three-dimensional space mapping. This allows us to state that soon confidently, we will see more accessible business solutions related to visual positioning. These technologies are already becoming the basis for augmented reality measuring tools, allowing the evaluation of indoor objects.
It is also worth mentioning ultra-wideband sensors, which will help more accurately determine device locations. They consume a lot of energy, and their signals cannot penetrate walls. However, once these beacon APIs become available, they can be successfully used in open spaces, such as airports, where they will be installed on ceilings.
Thus, indoor AR navigation is an effective business process development and optimization tool. Its application positively impacts visitor loyalty, improves their impressions of the company, and helps management create sales forecasting models based on customer movement data. AR navigation overcomes many shortcomings of other solutions, radically changing the operation of many industries.
Navigine is your partner for developing and implementing an AR indoor navigation system. To learn more about how Navigine's solutions can benefit your organization, contact our team at info@navigine.com, fill out the feedback form on the website or contact our company representatives to schedule a free online call.