Predicting the Future of Indoor Wayfinding
In the world of indoor wayfinding, we’ve come a long way from giant arrows pointing you in the direction of the nearest restroom. Interactive kiosk stations, 3D mapping, virtual reality headsets; the role technology has played in the evolution of navigational assistance is what continues to push the boundaries of how we can make commercial environments more accessible for everyone.
It’s hard to envision the future of any industry, but when it comes to projecting the trajectory of indoor wayfinding’s potential, there are current indications that we may be entering an unprecedented era of digital directional guidance. Virtual anticipation of your navigational needs, customized smartphone map-reading, crowdsourced data in real-time; sound intriguing?
Here are a few of the signs to come when it comes to predicting the future of indoor wayfinding technology.
Perfecting Indoor Mapping
Nowadays, practically everyone uses mapping applications of GPS technology to steer themselves in the right direction. That’s all applicable for navigating your way through a busy downtown rush hour or out on the winding roads of the country, but what about for the indoors?
Massive hospitals, sprawling campuses, towering skyscrapers; there’s been a recent push in the digital wayfinding industry to truly perfect and personalize the indoor mapping experience to accommodate users in large, complex interior settings.
This specifically applies to providing guidance within multi-level or story environments, where for too long, mapping has had difficulties differentiating locations across separate floors of the same building.
Digital wayfinding developers have started to invest significant time, money, and resources into creating better indoor mapping solutions to enhance the future of indoor wayfinding.
Smartphone Synchronization
This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, but there are over 294 million smartphone users in the U.S., meaning 85% of American adults are smartphone owners. We use our smartphones for practically everything, so why shouldn’t we utilize these innovative technologies for more efficient indoor wayfinding?
Smartphone synchronization isn’t necessarily new in the world of indoor wayfinding, but it’s an area that’s constantly evolving and will continue to do so for decades to come.
Here are just a few of the recent innovations in mobile wayfinding:
● Text-to-phone and QR code scan mapping capabilities
● Customized wayfinding mobile apps
● Multi-language and custom communication options
● Personalized route-mapping
● Omnichannel mapping opportunities
● Comprehensive content management systems
● Real-time navigational assistance
● Crowdsourced data from verified sources
If there was one guaranteed bet to place on the future of indoor wayfinding, putting all your money on smartphone synchronization would be a wise move.
Enhanced Analytics
An emerging priority in the indoor wayfinding industry has been improving access to enhanced analytics and metrics that gauge everything from user experience to navigational accuracy.
As more and more users embrace various digital wayfinding mediums, industries have more opportunities to utilize user metrics to learn more about consumer habits, as well as provide more convenient solutions that pertain to their needs.
With more of an emphasis on enhanced analytics, digital wayfinding provides businesses with innovative ways to assess usability, with metrics such as:
● Session length and dwell time
● Location tracking and facial recognition software
● Patient satisfaction scores and customer feedback retention
● Foot traffic conversion rates
● Brand engagement levels (social media enrollment, QR codes, online reviews, etc.)
The more insight companies can have into the indoor wayfinding services they provide, the better they can track user satisfaction and adjust accordingly to ensure they’re maximizing their ROI as much as possible.
Indoor Wayfinding Solutions From Oppna Digital
Predicting the future of indoor wayfinding can lead you in a wide variety of directions, but if you’re trying to steer your customers or guests in the right direction in the present, Oppna Digital has you covered!
We offer custom digital wayfinding solutions for all industries to take advantage of, as well as superior maintenance and software support assistance to ensure optimal performance. Contact Oppna Digital today to learn more about our innovative indoor wayfinding services.