Frequently Asked Questions

As a guest user, you can view AR Maps that were shared with you. To create AR Maps, you will need to create an account within the app.

Use a JPG or PNG file for the floor plan image. Aim for 4,000 x 4,000 pixels. For the scale of the image, we recommend between 50-100 pixels per meter (16-31 pixels per foot) in the real world. Place the 6 pegs in easily identifiable areas on the floor plan, within a 10-meter radius of the initial access point to minimize drift. Floor Plan Alignment Best Practices

There are no limitations to the size of the map.

Yes, brand assets and information can be added during pin creation or added later. This information is available to the visitor from the directory search. Up to 6 images, name, description, pin and path colors, navigation style, categories, logo, attached file, phone number, and website URL can be included.

First, make sure you are in the location associated with the AR map. Once in the right location, scan the map QR code with your smartphone camera, which will redirect you to the ARway app - if you don’t have it downloaded, it will prompt you to do so. Then you will rescan the QR code to activate the AR map. Once activated, feel free to search for the location you want to be navigated to in the location directory, while viewing and interacting with AR content in your surroundings.

ARway App is a smartphone application available on iOS and android for authoring, creating 3D Digital Twins, sharing, and viewing location-persistent AR experiences and AR Navigation. It is a self-serve solution, and all is done on a smartphone device in a matter of minutes.

Yes, location pin thumbnails/logos are shown in the Directory list and in the location pin details page. They can be uploaded in the Creator Portal editor.

Client can utilize the floor plan alignment tool to align their selected floor plan with the AR content. The steps for alignment are as follows: User uploads a floor plan during map creation in the creator portal. In the app they will be prompted to align the floor plan. User will place the pegs in their space and match the positioning on a 2D floor plan.

The best way to share maps is through QR codes placed in the location – upon scanning, users will be deeplinked to the map of the facility. AR maps can be shared by sending the link to the map via messenger, email, or social media platforms, which will redirect the recipient to the corresponding application and map. Alternatively, a map can also be shared by sending the map code, which map visitors can type into the search bar in the ARway app or respective white label app.

All types of AR content can be occluded, including 3D models, videos, location pins, guided tours, hotspots, audio indicators, and text.

By default, it will bring users to the "All Access" paths. However, if there are different paths for walkable and all access, different path options are shown at the start screen for the user's selection.

ARway Mapping Best Practices

Use the ARway app to generate a unique QR code and place it within your location. Scan the QR code to anchor it to that location and drop location pins around the venue. Save the map and reopen it in the Creator Portal. Once opened in the Creator Portal web Studio, upload a floorplan that corresponds to that location and populate it with AR content like navigation paths, guided tours, 3D models, images, videos, text, audio and more. Once done populating it with your desired content, publish the map to allow your visitors to navigate your venue with it while interacting with the content. Activating your ARway Map

ARway App builds upon AI-enabled computer vision for smartphone camera devices to recognize their surroundings and display hyper-accurate location-anchored AR content. No additional hardware or markers are needed.

Yes, a wheelchair accessible logo is displayed to indicate if the path is "All Access".

Yes, occlusion is supported in both Android and iOS versions of the app. Real-time occlusion in iOS allows virtual objects to be blocked by real-world objects, while app clipping is used in Android to hide virtual objects behind physical objects in the real world.

Occlusion Information Sheet

Users' mobile network bandwidth can be limited, and having multiple pieces of content in one area may cause slow loading times for some objects. To prevent this, it is recommended to have a maximum of 5 pieces of content in a 25 meters squared area.

To enable turn-by-turn navigation, paths must be created in the Creator Portal. The user can access turn-by-turn navigation instructions in the bottom tab of the location directory. By scrolling up from the bottom of the screen, visitors can view the steps. Moreover, navigation is displayed with a direction arrow or the selected navigation style.

ARway's Floor Plan auto-alignment feature allows users to easily align their digital content to the physical space using a 2D floor plan image. The feature scales and rotates the floor plan to ensure quick and accurate alignment. To align their floorplan using the ARway app, users are required to place six pegs in their space in AR.

Make sure that the pegs are aligned correctly with your floorplan, if one peg is in the wrong spot it will cause issues with alignment. Place the pegs with the bottom of the tip being where it should be.

Image Access Point Best Practices

You can use the app both indoors and outdoors in optimal lighting conditions.

Yes, during pathfinding, users can relocalize by holding up their phone to scan QR codes and images access points.

Yes, ARway App is available on ARCore or ARKit supported Android or iOS devices.

ARway's accuracy meter is a real-time location accuracy indicator displayed during a map experience. It uses custom algorithms to determine drift and displays a dial from 10 to 1. The dial will show a perfect score of 10, a declining accuracy score of 5, a recommendation to rescan at a score of 3, and a requirement to rescan at a score of 1. The accuracy meter also provides additional details and directs users to the nearest access point if they need to rescan.

The ARWay Creator Portal is an online web platform and editor that can be used to create and manage AR maps associated with different geographic locations, which can then be viewed through the app built with our SDK (ARwayKit).

Amenity pins in ARway are like location pins, but they come with icons representing specific amenities such as elevators, reception areas, restrooms, escalators, stairs, cafes, exits, lost and found, and security. They enhance user navigation and wayfinding by clearly indicating the locations of essential amenities within your map.

up to 6 images (.png, .jpg, .jpeg) with a file size limit of 3MB logo (.png, .jpg, .jpeg) with a max resolution of 512x512px downloadable file (.png, .jpg, .jpeg) with a file size limit of 3MB name description category name

3D models (.glb) with a file size limit of 10MB Images (.png, .jpg, .jpeg) with a file size limit of 3MB Videos (.mp4) with a file size limit of 12MB Audio files (.mp3, .wav, .m4a, .ogg) with a file size limit of 3MB Floorplans (.png, .jpg, .jpeg) with a file size limit of 10MB

The Creator Portal helps you in managing large-scale environments like shopping malls, airports, etc. You have access to all your maps, which you can enhance by uploading corresponding floorplans, placing AR content, creating guided tours, and viewing analytics. Manage your accounts and generate API keys to build your AR wayfinding apps through the Creator Portal.

The ARway Creator Portal is your all-in-one place to manage, edit and track the performance of your maps. It gives you the ability to place content such as 3D models, images, videos, text, navigation paths, guided tours and more remotely through the Studio and be experienced in real life in real time. The data from the creator portal can be accessed through REST API's in simple JSON format.

Two levels can be created: categories and subcategories.

Navigation reverts to a compass-style default navigation arrow experience towards the intended destination without turn-by-turn capabilities.

Yes, location pins can be grouped into categories and subcategories. Each location pin can be assigned multiple categories or subcategories.

In ARway, location pins are markers in augmented reality that show you where to go in the real world. Location pins can have customized branding attached to them with images, downloadable content, and logos.

Paths are created as lines to offer optimized and interactive directions for a seamless visitor experience. When users search for location pins in the app, our algorithm will lead them along these designated paths to their desired destination. This ensures a smooth and engaging journey for users as they navigate through the AR environment.

For path navigation, a pin should be placed on paths or within a maximum distance of approximately 3 meters (or 9.8 ft) from the path QR codes or Image Access Points should also be placed on the path or within a maximum distance of approximately 3 meters (or 9.8 ft) from the path.

To manually align the floor plan, you will need to first complete the map activation and floor plan alignment in the ARway app. 1. Login to the Creator Portal. 2. Go to the "My Maps" page. 3. Click the map you want to edit from the list. 4. Click the "Open in Studio" button on the top right. 5. Click the floor plan image while in the Studio editor. 6. Click the "Adjust Floor plan" button on the left. 7. Modify the position, rotation, and scale transformations for the floor plan using the panel on the left. Or modify the transformation using the gizmo for position, rotation, and scale that can be selected on the top right. 8. Click the "Save" button on the bottom left when finished. Keep in mind that when manually aligning the floor plan, the location pins and paths will move along with it, as their placement is based on the floor plan image.

Yes, "All Access" and "Walkable Only" paths can be created and added to existing floor plans. This allows mobility group specific paths for visitors.

Yes. The SDK makes calls to the ARway service to fetch information about the maps and download any assets needed to render the AR experience.

For Android builds, the ARwayKit dll which contains the library of the ARwayKit functions is < 1MB. On iOS builds, the ARwayKitSDK adds < 200MB. The sample apps for Android and iOS build to about 50MB and 100MB respectively.

ARway Software Development Kit (ARwayKit SDK) is an all-in-one set of cross-platform software tools and programs built on Unity that allows developers to leverage ARway’s Visual Positioning System (VPS) capabilities to build AR applications for localization and navigation. ARwayKit comes with many sample codes to get you started for use cases such as Localization, Navigation, AR Games, Multiplayer and Multi-Maps (for large scale AR experiences), as well as other guiding documentation that developers can use and integrate into their apps. Developers can use ARwayKit to build and maintain maps with AR experiences without having to write everything from scratch.

Yes, you will need to create an account and generate your access token on our Creator Portal in order to develop apps using ARwayKit.

Like the ARway app, the SDK accesses data from the ARway API service during runtime. While the end user is experiencing a map, the SDK also downloads assets, such as images, audio clips and 3D models as the user encounters them in the map.

Yes, you need to have an ARCore or ARKit supported Android or iOS device.

No 3rd party account is needed. The only account needed is an account in the ARway portal to generate an API Secret Key for your app.

Please refer to Product Spec Sheet below. Product Specifications

The ARway SDK requires permissions to use the camera and location services on your device. The SDK also requires access to the photo gallery if the user chooses to record video or snapshots of their experience.

To brand the SDK Sample app, make sure to prepare the following: App Name App Description App Icon: W: 512px | H: 512px App Images Customization Square Logo: W: 512px | H: 512px Rectangle Logo: W: 512px | H: 200px

Our Unity SDK is tested with Unity Version 2021.3.1f1 or Above (LTS).

During Localization, the user sends the camera image(s) to the ARway cloud service and queries for the user's current Pose (position and rotation) in the previously mapped area, if the process is successful, then in response you get the correct local Pose. It's important to note that the Pose is local with respect to the previously mapped area and can be converted into Global Pose given an offset. You can either use this Pose to update your ARCamera transform in your scene or use the inverse of the Pose to update the transform of your AR Content.

Localization is accurate to centimetre precision when a QR code or Image Access Point is scanned. After walking some distance after a localization scan, the user may experience ‘drift’ – content and wayfinding moving from actual placement by a few meters depending on the cell phone device. Please see Product Specifications to see recommended devices to minimize drift. Accuracy can be increased to centimetre precision again by ‘re-localizing.’ Within the same session, the user can scan another QR code or Image Access Point associated with the map. Additionally, when the device starts to experience ‘drift’ in the session, the user will receive prompts to scan a nearby QR code to restore accuracy.

While it's not mandatory, we recommend placing multiple QR codes or IAPs around large venues, ideally every 100 ft / 30 m. Positioning accuracy can be affected by phone technology, with older devices experiencing faster accuracy loss. To accommodate older phones, every 100 ft / 30 m is optimal but not necessary. If accuracy becomes a concern, additional QR codes or IAPs can be added. Keep in mind that not everyone requires this level of precision for a great experience.

A view is an instance in which an AR map is opened with the ARway app or SDK app for the purposes of editing or viewing the experience. It is device agnostic and aggregated for the account.

It is recommended to install a QR code every 100 ft or one QR code per 10,000 sqft to ensure optimal accuracy and reduce drift. Each QR code should cover an area of 900 m2 (4303.4-9682.6 ft2) to further avoid localization drift. Please see ARway Mapping Best Practices to minimize drift.