Indoor Mapping

Building interior

 I'm sure you saw the title of this post. And you are kinda wondering...what's that?😕 

Well, to those of us who are already familiar with mapping and how it is done, you would understand how exciting it is to know that you can actually do an Indoor Mapping.

Just so everyone is on the same page, let us understand what mapping is first. In General, Mapping is making a graphical representation, a map or flow, of something. Or simply put: the graphical representation of object or anything in space...on paper or any other medium. That something can be a road, a procedure, a process, a structure, or a system.It is also important to note that a lot can be mapped; such as the brain, data mapping etc.

So now what is Indoor Mapping?
Though it is kind of difficult to find or state an exact definition of it. It could be defined as a mechanism that allows us to position objects and people in closed environments. In other words, it allows sensors – or mobile devices – to be tracked in an internal environment. Before now, it has always been Out Door mapping, even after the advent of GIS. In other words, everything behind closed doors, remained there and unknown.

As you may not know, ESRI the foremost global leader in location intelligence. Manufacturer of the popular premium GIS Software (ArcGIS), has announced it will release ArcGIS Indoors, which will enable interactive indoor mapping of corporate facilities, retail and commercial locations, hospitals, event centres, airports, universities, and more.

According to ESRI, ArcGIS Indoors is a complete indoor mapping system for assembling, managing, and sharing building and campus information. Use the ArcGIS Indoors system for location discovery and wayfinding, asset management, operational data analysis, and crowdsource reporting to keep the indoor environment functional.

Indoor Map

 By applying the latest location technology, ArcGIS Indoors makes life easier for employees, customers, travelers, and visitors by allowing them to see and share where assets, rooms, departure gates, and offices are located. This information, combined with navigation, scheduling, and analytic capabilities, will allow buildings to operate at an increased level of efficiency and safety.

How it works...
It applies the latest location technology, uses data streams, real-time processing, and location intelligence tools to help businesses and other organizations understand how to better coordinate space and other resources within their facilities and campuses, ArcGIS Indoors makes life easier for employees, customers, travelers, and visitors by allowing them to see and share where assets, rooms, departure gates, and offices are located. This information, combined with navigation, scheduling, and analytic capabilities, will allow buildings to operate at an increased level of efficiency and safety. 

As gathered from their news portal, ArcGIS Indoors will be available for widespread use by the end of the year 2018. But stated that, a beta version of the product will be released at this year's Esri User Conference in California.

So what do you think, will you give it a try the moment it is made available? Just leave your comments and suggestion.