Google has become the leader in mapping the globe. From just about anywhere, you can find real time directions to the nearest Italian restaurant, hotel etc. This technology allows people to explore with confidence. But what about an indoor space?
I work on a very large, medical campus. There are numerous buildings linked through a network of bridges, tunnels and breezeways. There is no map for the inside of the building. Even long time employees get turned around. Patients and new staff are always getting lost. A few companies are looking to change that. Mapspeople is a company that works with Google maps to develop digital indoor wayfinding for airports, universities, hospitals , convention centers, etc.
Imagine that you are going to McCormick Place for the Auto show. There are multiple floors, multiple entry ways. Finding your way from point A to point B can be difficult. You may be huddled up with numerous other people at the large floorplan posted at the entrance to the auto show. Or you may get a printed map. But it doesnt tell you where you are at that moment in relation to where you want to go. By simply downloading an app to your smartphone, you can have a full layout of the convention center. Location of the nearest rest room, the food court etc. With the application of these programs, you will be able to find your way to that new concept car your kids wanted to see, just in time for the spokes person to do their presentation and you get to see all the features. All of this in real time, with feedback in case you get lost.
Rapier, this is such a great idea! I've gotten lost more than once inside a huge structure/complex, and an indoor mapping app would have been very useful. I can also see the marketing potential of such an app by, for example, shopping mall developers. Imagine an app that will not only tell you where you are, but offer coupons for the businesses nearest you or along your planned route.
ReplyDeleteOn the downside, such an app could also be used to collect an enormous amount of data that most of us would not necessarily want to share, such as how long you shopped a particular retailer, which physician's office you visited, etc. I heard a rather disturbing discussion on public radio the other day (Sorry, can't remember which show. Fresh Air, maybe.) about how retailers are looking to capture and utilize that type of information, which many would consider personal and private.