Indoor Navigation Predictions for 2020

We’re already three weeks into 2020 and it’s about time we start looking into what awaits us within the field of indoor navigation. Therefore, we’ve asked our navigation experts here at MapsPeople what they think we can expect, and to give us their suggestions of the top predictions for 2020. 

#1 Indoor Asset Tracking

Last year, one prediction was that we believed that 2019 would be the year where indoor navigation would be used to show internal data externally. For instance, it could be used by retailers to allow consumers to be navigated directly to a product’s location within a store. This has turned out to be a thing we have seen become relevant for retailers’ in-store navigation. With MapsIndoors, you can enhance your customers’ shopping experience by allowing them to make a shopping list before even entering the store, and proceed to be lead to the product’s exact placement once they arrive there.

This year, a couple of new positioning solutions based on Ultra Wideband Technology (UWB) have seen the light of the day. We’ve seen use cases in hospitals with asset tracking of equipment as well as for patient monitoring. This is something we expect to become more commonly used for cases like these in the future. 

#2 Seamless outdoor/indoor navigation with multiple transport modes

We’ve already established the seamless outdoor to indoor experience, but what we believe will become bigger this year is the feature of adding various transportation modes to the navigation so that it practically will be possible to plan your trip from home to your desired venue with transportation modes included in the calculation. 

Today, you can easily plan your trip and see different transit directions that can lead you directly to your destination with Google Maps, but this is something we believe can be taken a step further with the addition of indoor navigation.

#3 Smart workplaces 

Smart workplaces made it onto the list of predictions for 2019 as well, where we mentioned the potential of indoor navigation in big offices, and how these companies could even use this to lower the costs of the number of desks in the offices. In 2020, we expect to see new things happen on the workplace front. 

Features such as integrated indoor climate to determine which room might be better to use for meetings could become a thing we will get to see more widely spread in 2020. Studies show that good air quality can improve work productivity by up to 10%, so with many educational institutions and offices struggling with a poor climate, being able to track and monitor things such as temperature and CO2 concentration in meeting rooms and classrooms could potentially be a great benefit to many. Like this, it could be possible to decide on which meeting room to use based on which room that at the moment has the best air quality, to ensure the best possible working conditions.

These are some of the features we think might become things of 2020, and we are excited to see how the new year will unfold. We will continue to keep you updated through our blog, so stay tuned for more news on indoor navigation and MapsIndoors.