Shopping malls are like mini
cities—a mini city that goes up, not spreads out. A city under a dome,
intersecting streets, “house” numbers for every business, etc.
And with maps.
With the development of retail as a part of the entertainment market, more and
more indoor shopping malls exceed 2,150,000 ft2 (200,000 m2).
Malls contain:
myriad stores
cinemas
aqua parks
restaurants and cafes
bowling clubs
karaoke bars
multistorey car parks
All under one roof.
Consider Berjaya
Times Square in
Kuala-Lumpur, Malaysia. Berjaya
Times Square,
two 48-level, 203 m (666 ft.)
towers, contains over 1,000 retail shops, multiple business offices, pharmacies,
and even a police station. The facility claims it has 2.5 million monthly
visitors.
It definitely needs an indoor navigation app to help visitors get to where they
want
to go.
Stationary maps within indoor shopping malls are usually placed in the center of
every level. However, they tend to be rather inconvenient and incomprehensible.
In
contrast, an indoor navigation app lets users choose the desired destination,
build
an optimum route to it, and get directions to their destinations and back again!
Visitors don’t want to get lost trying to find their car, especially when
carrying
parcels. Both visual and audio directions are possible.
Check out features, costs, and technologies for indoor
navigation app
development.
IT Craft’s expertise in developing an indoor navigation
solution
InNav
iBeacon app
InNav helps visitors find their way inside large, multilevel
facilities such as shopping malls, airports, hospitals,
etc.
InNav’s feature list for visitors includes route building, 3D
map support, advanced search, “find-the-car” feature, a
child-tracking app, and more.
App administrators use a Web administration panel with several
access levels. They can collect statistics on user behavior via
heat maps. Also, administrators can send notifications and
emergency alerts.
Store owners can manage products on shelves.
InNav uses BLE beacons and geomagnetic positioning technologies
to build the most precise route to a destination point. There
and back again.
Both native iOS and Android apps are available.
Android SDK
Swift OpenGL
Indoo.rs
3D Map
Do you want to help your visitors enjoy their visit more, so they will
want to return again and again?
Contact us today for a free estimate on costs and suggested
implementation path.
An advanced indoor navigation app helps solve a large
number of issues—issues
both businesses and customers face. It provides a plausible mix of ecommerce and
physical shopping experience for three user groups:
Customers
businesses
facility owners
Indoor navigation apps can be used for:
navigation and mapping
promotional and alert notifications
tracking and analytics
Customers
Use their mobile devices to navigate inside the mall.
Search for points of sale.
Find their cars in the multilevel car park.
Locate friends in the shopping mall.
Save different points of interest for future use.
Receive notifications about all ongoing events (special offers and
discount coupons).
Wander but never get lost.
Businesses
The challenge businesses face is how to best present themselves—how to
make their services stand above many similar services. They can show
visitors where they are and how to get to their store. Owners of stores,
restaurants, and cafés can promote their goods and services from the
app. Or they can use proximity-based marketing. Proximity-based
marketing makes it possible to receive statistical information on
customers’ movements inside the shopping space. This provides statistics
about the most popular items and most visited places.
Facility owners
Facility owners can use promotional tools encouraging customers to reach
less-well-known places in the shopping mall. They can also receive quick
feedback on promotional activities via analytics tools and heat maps.
Plus, facility owners maintain an extra communication channel. They can
use it in an emergency to send alert notifications with directions to
escape exit.
Common approaches to indoor navigation app development
Challenges with indoor navigation: venues require different navigation
approaches,
based on, among others:
number of inner walls
elevators
location of exits
possible shortcuts
To help overcome these challenges, the best shopping mall navigation happens when
an
indoor navigation app uses several data sources for building and tracking the
route.
Indoor navigation app development needs the following methods:
Geofencing – map building using magnetic
fields.
Fingerprinting – tracks visitors’ locations
and/or guides
users inside the facility
and also triggers location-based events.
Motion sensing – guarantees positional
accuracy and high
quality of users’
navigation.
Geofencing
Positioning technologies based on the geomagnetic field means that mall
navigation apps work even in places where Wi-Fi or Bluetooth devices can
not. A unique geomagnetic field, influenced by all interior items,
architectural forms, steel beams, etc., is formed inside every room.
Such systems can function on most mobile devices—those equipped with a
magnetic field sensor. Geofencing systems have an accuracy from 1.5 ft.
– 6.5 (0.5 m – 2 m).
Fingerprinting
The fingerprinting method is used most by retail stores using navigation
apps. It measures radio signals every several meters inside the whole
facility. All radio signals are stored in the mall navigation app then
compared on the device.
Because data is gathered from several sources, this approach solves
problems caused by distortions. The system eliminates interferences
caused by signal discrepancies.
Fingerprinting makes it possible to calculate location relatively
quickly and without any extra requirements to the infrastructure.
However, it needs a large number of adjustments. The system must collect
data at intervals of several yards along the entire facility.
Bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacons are compatible with both iOS and
Android devices. They send notifications or trigger events depending on
a user’s location inside the shopping mall.
Motion sensing
On-board smartphone sensors help control the motion. The sensors include:
accelerometer
compass
gyroscope
barometer
Their combination helps measure 3D motion both on one floor and between
different floors in a mall.
Motion sensing is precise within approx. 3 ft. – 6.5 ft. (2 – 3 meters)
for users moving inside the building. It maintains the accuracy level
for a long period of time. The drawback is the necessity to determine
the primary location of the other sources.
Required hardware for an indoor navigation system
Visitors only need their smartphone to use an indoor navigation app. Steps
include:
Launch the locale-specific smartphone app
Turn on BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy)
Turn on Internet connection/Wi-Fi
To provide visitors both precise indoor navigation apps and engaging
location-based experiences, navigation app owners must install special hardware
and indoor positioning platforms.
The most common technologies include:
BLE beacons (for fingerprinting)
There are various BLE
beacons available. They differ in
features, price, and
shipment options.
For example, the
Estimote indoor location solution is
based on
miniature
beacons that have a processor, memory card, battery with a one-year
shelf
life, accelerometer, and temperature sensor.
A minimum of three beacons need to be installed inside a room to cover
the
entire space. The number of beacons is determined more precisely with
this
calculator.
Mobile devices read signals from the beacons and use them to determine
the
location. However, the reality is that when any reflecting surface or
large
shielding objects, including people, are situated near the beacons or a
large number of beacons are gathered together in one place, positioning
becomes difficult, thus calculation results might have an accuracy of up
to
appr. 10 – 20 ft. (3 – 6 meters.)
IndoorAtlas (for geofencing)
IndoorAtlas recognizes a magnetic field. It creates a map based on that
information and displays the user’s location.
IndoorAtlas processes the magnetic field which is formed in every given
room. This field varies with changes in the interior. For example, when
using iron in construction—even for a short period of time—the magnetic
field is impacted and leads to fluctuations on the map. App
administrators must create the map afresh or make alterations focusing
on all changes in the magnetic field.
Indoo.rs (mapping and positioning)
Indoo.rs developed a solution for indoor location positioning based on
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies with an integrated motion detection
sensor. This approach lets users work with the maps even off-line, so
they can map a route to the desired point ahead of time. With the
signals transmitted via compact BLE beacons, Indoo.rs algorithms allow
users to estimate location with an accuracy of approx. 3 ft. (1 meter).
Both the software and hardware side must be switched on in every room.
Indoor navigation app development: Components, features,
and costs
System components
Developers need to integrate several technologies into one seamless indoor
navigation solution. Indoor navigation software consists of the following parts:
User smartphone app – receives and sends
requests; displays results of user
requests.
Tracking hardware and engines – transmits
signals and tracks devices.
Software back end – stores maps and calculates
user routes. Routing requires heavy
calculations and quickly drains a smartphone battery.
Administration panel – lets admin manage
hardware and software.
Core features
User smartphone app
Lets users find the best way to their destination.
It includes the following core features:
Positioning – find their exact
location inside a shopping mall.
Mapping – use the app map to orient in
a shopping mall.
Routing – receive assistance in route
creation; use directions to find
destination.
Users also benefit from the following nice-to-have features:
AR directions or voice guidance –
improves guidance by visualizing the
route.
Push notifications via BLE beacons –
lets users receive timely notifications
on interesting events.
Login via Android/Apple account –
frees users from having to memorize
yet-another set of login credentials.
Guest mode – suits users who prefer
using the app in incognito mode.
Find your friend – helps users find
each other faster inside the shopping
mall.
App Clips – works for iOS users who
want to try indoor navigation without
installing app.
Administration panel
Lets app admins manage the app.
Two access levels include businesses operating inside a shopping mall
and facility owners or their representatives.
Features for businesses
Let users promote their stores and get analytics on visitors.
Promotional notifications – inform
customers about special offers and
discounts.
Front-store management – link certain
items to the user app and make
on-the-go purchases possible.
Analytics – receive analytics on
number of customers, time they spend inside
via a heat map.
Features for facility owners
Beacons and map management – detect
and eliminate flaws fast.
Alert notifications – send users
emergency notifications and
activate instructions.
Analytics – get insight on facility
usage.
Build trust and responsibility –
helping visually challenged
people and first-time visitors.
Advanced proximity-based marketing with BLE beacons
With advanced beacons, more features are possible for businesses.
For example, Estimote Nearables can be attached to
items. They have their own
memory, an accelerometer, and temperature sensors.
With the help of the accelerometer, Estimote Nearables can identify changes in an
item’s position. They can collect analytics on how many times the item with the
attached beacon was touched, thus determining the item’s popularity. Or,
Estimotes
can activate a TV screen inside the store. The screen displays useful
information
such as item materials, price, and discounts, “customers also bought this item”,
and
more.
Kontakt.io offers even more sensors for
installation into
every beacon.
App owners can choose the desired components from the following list:
accelerometer
environmental temperature sensor
weight sensor
gyroscope
humidity sensor
light sensor
linear acceleration sensor
magnetic field sensor
orientation sensor
pressure sensor
rotation sensor
All of these sensors help monitor the environmental conditions and their changes
in
real time.
For business owners, administrators, and managers, this function can become
essential for the monitoring of the storage conditions and observance of all
required standards.
Costs of indoor navigation development
Costs of an indoor navigation app vary between $10,000 and $50,000 for a basic
app.
They tend to increase when extra features are added to the system.
Indoor navigation development costs depend on:
Number of integrated technologies
The more navigation technologies development team adds to an app, the
better the precision. Precision demands more time needed to synchronize
all the navigation technologies.
Shopping mall area
Size of a shopping mall directly affects the number of BLE beacons
developers need to buy, install, and tune. Also, the larger the area,
the more time developers need to create maps.
Promotional features
They require extra beacons because BLE beacons can send only one type of
signal at once. Also, a special server handles promotional
notifications. It must be included in scope of work.
Anticipated number of users
A large number of users requires more servers to handle requests.
Software developers also need to pay extra attention to different types
of load testing.
Back-end development
Fast apps rely on back-end, source code optimization. Routing requires
heavy calculations. A non-optimized app drains a smartphone battery and
might cause the device to overheat. All calculations must be done on the
server side and sent to the smartphone. The same is true with maps. They
are stored on servers and sent to users so that users do not run out of
smartphone memory.
app maintenance
Last but not least, app maintenance is critical for app success.
Maintenance costs usually take about 15% – 20 % of total indoor
navigation app development costs. The app owner must ensure an engineer
or team constantly monitors the entire system:
app server state
beacons state
geomagnetic maps
Also, app updates are important each time navigation technologies or
user smartphones receive updates.
How does IT Craft work on indoor navigation app
development?
At IT Craft, developers use a six-step path to indoor navigation development.
It includes the following steps:
Project discovery and estimates.
As with any app, everything starts when you send a request to us with
your
requirements. If needed, a call is made to clarify any details. Based on
your requirements, a project manager prepares an estimate. It includes
scope
of work, timeline, and required team squad.
At the next step, we further discuss details and negotiate on terms.
Important note. For indoor
navigation projects, only a preliminary estimate is possible due
to a high degree of unpredictability.
If you already have project requirements (and some source code), the team
completes a pilot task to see if they can handle the project.
After both parties agree on terms of cooperation, the contract is signed
and
an NDA also, if required.
Indoor navigation software development.
Development team works with Agile to deliver the indoor navigation app
source code. The Agile approach makes it possible to both work on
different
parts of the system simultaneously and handle changing requirements.
The entire workflow is divided into Sprints. At the beginning of each
Sprint, we discuss the Sprint scope. You get a Sprint plan.
After each Sprint, you get a part of working functionality and detailed
report on hours worked.
The roles on an indoor navigation development project include:
Project manager – Oversees the entire
development workflow.
Business analyst – Handles
requirements; helps the team prepare user path.
UX/UI designer – Works on the visual
part of the app.
Mobile developer – Prepares mobile
app. Usually there are at least two
mobile developers, one for Android and another for the iOS app.
Back-end developer – Responsible for
the server part. Usually, there are
several back-end developers on an indoor navigation project.
QA engineer – Ensures app quality and
conformity to requirements.
DevOps – Automates different tasks,
saving developer time.
Hardware installation and tuning
At this step, developers install beacons inside the facility and/or
prepare geomagnetic maps. Physical testing starts. Developers walk
through different levels and see how the system works. They also look
for the best spots for BLE beacons to avoid being taken by visitors.
When needed, developers fine-tune maps and beacons to make precise
positioning possible.
Launch and user acceptance testing
At this step, you test the system on your own to see how it works and how
it corresponds to your expectations. Beta testing by early adopters is
possible to ensure a large testing base. Tuning is also done at this
step to meet requirements.
Post-launch software support
The development team supervises the project for the next 1 – 3 months,
depending on the amount of produced source code. The team eliminates
bugs and flaws in the source code that are discovered when early
adopters start operating the app. These fixes are included in our
original estimate.
Software maintenance and expansion
The same development team can help you maintain your software available
for end uses. They can add new features into the indoor navigation app
and optimize source code.
If you plan to manage your indoor navigation solution on your own,
please make sure you assign a person who can maintain both software and
hardware parts.
Nowadays, indoor navigation has become so significant that many companies, from
startups to world leaders like Google and Indoo.rs, have released both hardware
and software solutions for indoor navigation.
The features of a mall
navigation app are greatly appreciated by
people who love
shopping—especially by those who value their time, create shopping lists, and
want the optimal route to all necessary goods and services.
For a shopping center, an up-to-date, highly available navigation provides an
immense opportunity to distinguish themselves among the range of other similar
shopping malls. They can improve their status and to increase their competitive
advantage.
This is crucial considering the large number of shopping centers in every big
city. Customer attraction leads to an increase in the number of tenants inside a
mall. Therefore, iBeacons
development services is a sure way to
build an
advanced but efficient marketing tool.
Indoor mapping is a special digital solution that makes it possible
to visualize a plan of a facility on users’ smartphones. Indoor maps
help users identify their exact location inside a facility and
create a fast route to a desired destination point.
Roofs and floors block GPS signals. Also, it is impossible to
determine on which floor the user is situated using the GPS. This
all makes it the least precise and least attractive technology for
indoor navigation.
An indoor positioning system makes it possible to analyze visitors’
behaviors when they are inside the shopping mall by tracking where
and how they spend their time. Beacons can also track what items
users take from the shelf and how long they keep them in their hands
helping better understand visitors’ preferences.
Pay special attention: If you plan to track user devices, your
indoor navigation system must comply with GDPR
regulations.