Prototype

Room Locator

What if…

finding a meeting room inside the Springer building was the easiest thing in the world?

Problem

"Where am I?" - Everyone knows this question, because navigation within the office building can become a real obstacle course even for experienced employees. Especially the search for unknown conference rooms or remote departments puts many people to the test every day. Room plans, if they are available, are rarely of any help. And the colleagues' insider knowledge is not always available. How can we design an in-house navigation system that reliably guides employees and visitors to the next meeting?

Solution

Since GPS is only of limited use for navigation within the building, other technologies have to be used to determine an exact location. Very precise localization can be achieved with beacons. Placed in the building, they continuously send information and telemetry data via Bluetooth. With an app or web app, employees and visitors could receive location information by push message, only as they pass by. Indoor navigation could thus be carried out easily and dynamically using a smartphone.

Challenges

Bluetooth transmits at 2.4MHz which is strongly reflected by walls and barriers. Our initial plan to triangulate an exact location using three beacons became much more difficult than planned. Nevertheless, it was possible to set up a location determination within the offices.