Wayfinding | ARway

How to create an impactful wayfinding strategy

If your customer gets lost at the venue, you’ve lost the customer (pun intended). Any business or facility that welcomes visitors or customers to their physical location needs a wayfinding system to enhance the customer experience. The importance of wayfinding is undisputed. Google Maps and Waze have ingrained self-sufficient navigation in users that it’s practically second nature. People pull out their phones to look for directions without even thinking about it. The same ease of use and convenience can be offered for indoor spaces with interactive digital wayfinding systems. But before you rush in to create your wayfinding system design, you need a well-planned wayfinding strategy.

Understand the user experience before you create your wayfinding system design

Step one is collecting and studying data on how visitors navigate your venue. Identify how they intuitively navigate your space without directions—this will help you create more natural paths.

The next consideration is familiarizing visitors with the environment. Your wayfinding system should not only help visitors get from location A to B but also seamlessly guide them through their surroundings, highlight points of interest, and entice them to revisit. A successful wayfinding strategy will help visitors truly understand their environment and enhance their experience, encouraging subsequent visits.
Reinforcing brand identity through signage is also important to create a strong brand connection with your visitors. Align your wayfinding system with your brand colors and symbols to foster greater brand recognition among your audience.

Considerations to keep in mind for building a successful wayfinding strategy

Accessibility

Whether you are building an offline or online wayfinding path – it needs to be easily accessible to all visitors. Navigation signage should be easy to discover, be visible to spot from a distance and be within reach of every visitor. This is where digital wayfinding systems prove more successful. ARway.ai allows inclusive access to an AR (augmented reality) wayfinding system with just a smartphone.

Crossroads / Decision points

An intersection or fork in the road is where the visitor makes a choice whether to take one path or another, and this juncture is referred to as a decision point. An efficient wayfinding system provides visual cues and knowledge to help the visitor make an informed decision about which route to select.

Clustering

Clustering in a wayfinding system means grouping related destinations, landmarks or points of interest together. For instance, grouping restaurants, washrooms and exits together. Clustering may help quickly identify and understand spatial relationships between different areas within a complicated venue. However it may also lead to sensory overload by confusing the visitor with too many signages or spots in a particular area. While designing your wayfinding strategy – it is important to consider whether you want to increase footfall in a certain area – then clustering can be employed to group similar spots together or you can choose to avoid it altogether so as to not overwhelm visitors.

Paths

The primary objective of a wayfinding strategy is to create efficient navigation routes or paths. Wayfinding systems work by designing clear pathways using landmarks. A good wayfinding system ensures that paths are intuitive and easily navigable for visitors.

Landmarks

A sign, store, room, fountain, tree—almost anything that visually stands out as easily identifiable and is more or less a permanent structure within the venue can be called a ‘landmark’. Landmarks are used as markers to orient visitors within the environment while using the wayfinding system. In short, they tell visitors, ‘You are here.’ They serve as anchor points that link a navigation path together.

Limit navigation options

While in some cases ‘variety is the spice of life’ and having choices is good, when it comes to providing visitors with navigation options, ‘less is more’. Limit navigation paths from point A to B to prevent visitors from getting sidetracked and to lead them quickly and efficiently to their destination.

Intuitive wayfinding system design

This is where you employ the considerations from your planning phase. Design your paths so that the directions seem natural. An intuitive path and design will help visitors understand the environment quickly. Avoid unnecessary turns and obstacles in the path. Ensure the design of your wayfinding system is user-friendly; signs and important information are in the natural line of sight for visitors. In digital way-finding systems, this becomes especially important to reduce cognitive load on the user and enhance their experience. Arway.ai has a clean interface that helps users understand at one glance where they are and swiftly comprehend the navigation paths.

Consistency

Consistency creates comfort. Your wayfinding system design must be consistent – employing the same brand colors, lighting, signs, and symbols throughout. ARway.ai helps you customize your wayfinding system to resonate with your brand aesthetics and create a navigation system that is truly yours – an extension of your brand’s unique identity.

The importance of building a digital wayfinding system

In today’s day and age where digital adoption has become almost universal – using technology is the norm. A digital wayfinding system provides the following benefits over traditional wayfinding systems-

Dynamic Information that can adapt to changing traffic conditions, schedules and always be up-to-date
Reduce Costs with easy updates, eliminating the need for creating physical displays
Data Analytics
Friendly, Personalized User-experience

ARway.ai – Design your own Interactive Wayfinding System

ARway.ai offers cutting-edge, no-code, augmented reality solutions to design your own interactive wayfinding system. You can transform your space with ARway’s spatial computing technology and SDK kits into easily navigable, futuristic spaces.
ARway.ai offers a quick-to-deploy SDK to build a technologically advanced wayfinding system in record time. Its capabilities include –

Interactive navigation using augmented reality
Directories with points of interest
Multiple levels & floors
Turn-by-turn & step-by-step navigation with visual guidance and audio narration
AI-assisted optimized routes
Immersive AR experiences along the paths
Holographic tour guides
Location-persistent AR content and experiences for targeted, timely engagement
Location intelligence to track visitor interactions and movements
Comprehensive data analytics for insights
AR gamification opportunities
AR-activated marketing campaigns
Revenue-generating opportunities by monetizing the airspace

Click here for an in-depth understanding of ARway.ai and its features.

Click here to connect with us to launch a personalized wayfinding system for your venue.

Maps are a tool we can likely all agree to be something reliable in our lives. They’re one of the main ways we situate ourselves and keep moving forward as we navigate the world.

From that nostalgic feeling of printing out a set of directions before a long trip to using Google Maps on our phones, outdoor mapping has evolved. Rarely do we find ourselves lost or having to ask locals for directions with the advanced technologies behind navigation.

But what about indoor mapping and navigation? How do directions, signage, and more translate when indoors? How does a business provide an indoor experience complete with rich details that remove any struggles one might have while travelling from point A to point B?

It’s not as well known and doesn’t have the widespread usage behind it as its outdoor counterpart but it carries as much value and arguably provides even more benefits across different industries and businesses.

Continue reading to learn how our indoor travels are in dire need of just as much context, visual markers, guides, and more to smooth the journey for consumers on their way to their desired destinations.

What is Indoor Mapping and Navigation?

It’s natural to struggle to orient yourself about a static, 2D map if you’re moving around. This is where a dynamic, digital map comes in filled with points and places of interest that are a click away through your phone. Instead of going in circles in search of a restroom or where one might find a snack, a digital map is available with step-by-step pathways to get you there.

This is not to mention that a digital map is an engaging and exciting experience with the opportunity to extend a business’s brand reach.

Benefits of Indoor Mapping Across Industries

Hospitals

Hospitals are typically large-scale environments with complex transit and navigational systems. Patients are likely to already be in an anxious or stressed state before they first step into a hospital, and if signage isn’t helpful enough, it’s another source of stress.

Studies have shown that if visitors do not have direction – or reassurance of their direction – every 30 feet while travelling through a facility, they will likely stop and ask an employee for directions. This leads to an astounding 40% of visitors and patients depending on hospital staff for wayfinding assistance. Although hospital staff are there to help patients, those few minutes providing directions add up quickly and make all the difference in an industry where minutes can mean a life saved.

Businesses can save time for their employees and visitors through indoor navigation. Let’s say a visitor is entering from parking lot A and needs to get a blood test. Using their phone, a directed path on their screen will guide them to the correct area with turn-by-turn directions rather than this patient using one sign after another that has gaps between them where they can potentially get lost.

By keeping patient stress to a minimum and being on time, hospitals can expect happier customers and a decreased workload for their staff. Improved customer satisfaction can lead to increased subsequent visits and perhaps influence referrals to friends and family, all of which greatly impact a hospital’s bottom line. By helping patients reach their appointments on time, hospitals reduce the costly impact of late and missed appointments which cost hospitals an overwhelming $150 billion annually in the U.S.

Universities

Similar to hospitals, navigating a workspace or university is a seemingly daunting task with how large an area it can be. Using a static map to find a conference room, restroom, or desk makes the task harder than it ought to be. With 70% of workers on corporate campuses wasting up to 15 minutes looking for their meeting space, businesses can take it upon themselves to make it easier for employees to find their way around from day one using indoor navigation.

Points of interest are highlighted on dynamic, interactive maps to improve the discoverability of meeting rooms, specifically those which might be empty or available, as well as assets such as printers, tools, or test equipment.

With data focused on what users are searching and navigating to the most, administrators can increase facility management productivity by more than 30% with geo-analytics on space usage. There is a lower need to spend on navigational signage not only in high-traffic areas but throughout the complete space, effectively reducing costs.

What is Augmented Reality Indoor Navigation?

Enhanced indoor Positioning, Localization and Navigation (PLAN) has the potential to be taken further with the addition of Augmented Reality (AR). It provides directions to users on-screen overlaid on top of real environments seen through their smartphone camera to eliminate the struggle of comparing a static 2D map against the real world through AR displays of text, arrows, paths, and more.

Why Use Augmented Reality for Navigation?

Drive Revenue for Brands

AR naturally calls for engagement and elevates a customer’s shopping experience. A mapped mall for instance guides customers to the stores they’re looking for with ease. AR wayfinding has led to a 41% increase in foot traffic in a shopping mall, which translated into measurable sales growth in 80% of stores. Once they’re inside, AR-enhanced products are one click away which tends to lead to more purchases. Reportedly, 72% of shoppers purchased items they had not planned to purchase because of AR.

As customers navigate a digital map of a retail space or large venue, these indoor spaces can advertise special deals through sponsored AR advertising campaigns that grab attention.

Engaging Customer Experiences

With AR becoming entangled and layered with our real world, it’s not surprising to feel immersed in the experience. When customers reach a high level of interactivity, there’s a deeper connection established.

Museums, art galleries, and exhibits can improve attention and engagement with AR elements that dive deeper and show off different levels of a specific artist, art object, or exhibit. According to a Seattle Art Museum (SAM) survey, the most memorable experiences were those that had some degree of immersion or interactivity, with 84% of visitors reporting feeling more engaged with art installations that had AR elements.

Another survey conducted by the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) discovered that AR extended visitors’ focus on installations by 2.31 seconds leading to a more connected and memorable experience.

Get Started Creating Indoor Navigation For Your Business

Learn more by downloading the ARway app today and joining our Creator Community to stay up to date on the evolving capabilities of interactive wayfinding experiences.

Re-Inventing the Stadium Fan Experience

Heading over to a stadium for the night to see your favorite sports team battle it out or an artist perform can oftentimes be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Yet that special experience shouldn’t be limited to only when a fan is in the stands.

A Fan Engagement survey conducted by Deloitte in 2018 revealed that one of the four factors of a good in-stadium fan experience, which outweighs other factors by over 50% is an exciting atmosphere within the stadium, so venue owners ought to be looking into how to provide a complete end-to-end experience from the moment fans enter the parking lot to their exit.

To go above and beyond, augmented reality (AR) wayfinding and immersive spatial activations are some of the best ways to reinvent the stadium fan experience by transforming the common fan difficulties into something exciting.

Let’s dive deep into how indoor AR navigation (MetaMaps), location-based AR experiences (Spatial), and location-based analytics (Location Intelligence) can improve the experience and engagement of fans while also driving revenue for the stadium and its sponsors.

How AR Indoor Navigation in Stadiums Improves the Fan Experience

Improve Fan Navigation in Venues

Attending a stadium event tends to involve a lot of planning to not miss out on anything. Where is, and how much parking is available? Or, when’s the best time to get out of your seat and look for the nearest restroom?

Fans typically rely on a 2D map or wander around the stadium to get the answer to these types of questions. But as they’re walking around and trying to navigate a large and complex venue, a static map simply isn’t reflective and can’t keep up with a moving fan, leading to unnecessary stress and frustration. The earlier-mentioned Deloitte Fan Engagement survey found that one of the main factors that bring down the in-stadium fan experience the most is poor navigation within the stadium.

77% of smartphone users rely on navigation apps and 71% of people report experiencing better navigation with AR. This type of navigation is 2 times faster than typical, 2D signage-based navigation, and provides step-by-step navigation leaving no room for getting lost. A fan can use their phone to locate their seats or nearest restroom by following an AR-powered navigation path, thus dramatically improving their overall experience navigating the complex venue.

Higher Discoverability of Stadium Vendors

Once a fan finds their seat, they’re most likely wanting to stay in the nearby vicinity so it’s easy to get back, and again, to not miss out on anything exciting. If a fan doesn’t know their way around and what vendors are nearby, they won’t be willing to venture out and discover what a stadium has to offer.

Boost fans’ awareness as they’re using AR wayfinding by providing a directory within the experience. That pizza they’re craving is a click away and as it turns out, is nearby. Or, highlight souvenir shops to add to the memorable experience.

Increase the Level of Safety in Stadiums

Indoor mapping not only boosts the accessibility of a stadium, but also makes it a lot safer. As fans are already immersed in a stadium’s digital map, exits, and emergency exits can be localized and highlighted to make sure they’re aware and informed in case any issue arises.

Should an emergency happen, the quickest and safest route to a fan’s actual position can direct them for proper evacuation out of the building.

Spatial and Location-Based Marketing to Increase Engagement and Drive Revenue in Stadiums

What is Location-Based Marketing?

Location-based marketing empowers a stadium to target its fans at an incredibly personal level. Based on their physical location and location data as fans navigate an indoor map, a marketing team can reach specific fans based on their proximity to a merchandise store or food vendor.

Venues can employ geofencing and geotargeting to increase foot traffic to concession stands. For example, as soon as a fan enters a specified area, their phone gets an alert with a special offer, coupon, or reward to entice that fan to purchase a vendor nearby. Consumers are becoming more inclined to instant gratification. The ability to instantly click and connect within the wayfinding experience boosts a fan’s satisfaction and happiness as they navigate.

Location-Based Augmented Reality

Stadiums must make the trip fans take to their venue worth it through personalized, unique entertainment. AR presents an opportunity to expand the amount of content a stadium can offer in addition to more monetization opportunities for sponsors and brands.

As fans point their camera at their current surroundings, they can see AR spatials emerge and call for engagement and interaction. Stadiums can go beyond a venue’s physical limitation through interactive holograms of players and coaches, AR scavenger hunts, and other forms of AR entertainment to expand the fan experience.

Sponsors can up their marketing game through engaging AR activations and location-based marketing to grow revenue. As The Drum reports, AR can capture people’s attention for over 85 seconds, increase interaction rates by 20 percent, and improve click-through rates to purchase by 33 percent.

One of the most impressive success stories of AR used in marketing is Pepsi’s installation of AR technology into a London bus shelter in 2014, making it appear as if a lion, UFOs, flying saucers, and other objects were headed straight for Londoners. The experience resonated with people so much that they naturally wanted to share it with their friends on social media, and as a result, the campaign attracted over six million views on YouTube – making it one of YouTube’s most viewed advertising campaigns.

Drive Consumers Away From the Competition

AR-powered wayfinding turns a fan’s experience at your stadium into something they want to repeat and rave to everyone about. Easy navigation combined with personalized AR marketing is a surefire way to stand out when competing with other stadium’s technological innovations. 86% of people are willing to pay more for a better experience, meaning as a fan is immersed in the digital map, they’re more likely to spend money at merchandise stores and food vendors.

Static and Real-Time Location & User Insights to Impact the Bottomline for Stadium Owners, Vendors and Sponsors

Real-Time and Location-Based Insights

Rather than taking a stab in the dark and guessing what fans might need to know or are possibly interested in, the real-time and location-based insights from indoor wayfinding empower stadium owners to make data-driven decisions. Track searches and what most of the location selections are to see high-traffic areas. By studying how fans move around the venue, stadium operators can optimally place food stalls, merchandise stands, sponsored AR content, and more where they’ll get the most impact. For fans, they can check the crowd level of the entrance gates and move to a more convenient spot. Once they’re inside, they can also monitor lines for restrooms and food and drink stalls

Attract and Retain Sponsors

The ability to be strategic when leveraging indoor mapping data analytics is a huge boost to improve the value proposition to sponsors. If facility and property management can see that a majority of fans tend to gather on a specific side of the stadium, then this area would become the best place to improve the timing and delivery of marketing campaigns. The impact of the messaging and return results leads to greater effectiveness with proximity-based marketing campaigns.

Interested in implementing an indoor mapping system for your stadium? Contact us here today.

MetaMaps: Improving Navigation of Complex Spaces with AR-Enhanced Indoor Wayfinding

We’re no strangers to relying on signage to arrive at our desired destination, especially when navigating large and crowded areas. It’s meant to make the journey seamless and hassle-free, yet we still all find ourselves getting lost from time to time. After all, that’s why we tend to get to places early to account for any mishaps and most importantly, to avoid that extra and unnecessary stress.

So, why are people still getting lost? It’s clear the style of conventional wayfinding we’re used to isn’t cutting it anymore. Continue reading to learn how Augmented Reality (AR) is the cornerstone of the next step for indoor navigation and wayfinding.

What is Augmented Reality Wayfinding?

The main issue with 2D maps is that they’re simply not reactive enough and there’s no clear direction on how to reach objects or destinations far away. Recent studies have shown that one of the biggest retail customer pain points is navigation, as 61% of customers reported navigating in large spaces as one of the key frustrations.

AR wayfinding is the ideal solution to the fact that indoor spaces are a lot more complex than outdoor spaces. Customers are not necessarily looking for more assistance but better assistance – AR is here to lead us to our destination faster than ever before.

Augmented Reality for Indoor Wayfinding

Augmented reality wayfinding essentially functions as a digital guide. Through a mobile device, users see digital information laid over their real-world environment in real time. An AR wayfinding app can show directional prompts to get people to the opposite side of a building if that’s where they need to go – no matter how packed it is. And with over three-fourths of smartphone owners already regularly using navigation apps, this type of technology is nothing new.

People can then navigate their way around complex indoor spaces, from healthcare facilities, universities, shopping centers, airports, stadiums, and more with ease! Not only will it be easier, but it’s proven to be much faster as AR navigation is 2x faster than 2D navigation using signage.

How Does AR-Based Indoor Navigation Work?

To get to the stage of providing a display of AR directions, first comes the actual navigation and localization of the user within the map so that the system understands the location.

This is where you would expect GPS and other typical outdoor technologies to work, but they don’t translate as well when indoors. A different approach and one of the most common ways is to install beacons like the Gatwick airport has done. With over 2,000 beacons installed, it acts as the base for their indoor navigation system and allows travelers to locate themselves to find their gates, exits, information centers, and more.

From there, AR technology is incorporated and provides directions on a smartphone screen on top of the real-world environment. Arrows, text boxes, and paths light a user’s device to make the navigation process incredibly simple and efficient – so efficient to the point where studies of AR maps versus 2D maps have shown it takes nearly double the time to navigate when using the 2D physical map.

Not every business has the budget behind an airport, so installing thousands of beacons isn’t a viable option. This is where AR Way comes in, with their elegantly simple indoor wayfinding solution that allows anyone to map out any space and populate it with content without writing a single line of code, and without the need for beacons, Wi-Fi, or external hardware. By simply scanning a location, businesses can create a point-cloud map via mobile app. A navigation path, 3D models, and other content can then be anchored to the physical environment and viewed through the app. The result is a seamless and hyper-accurate outdoor-indoor AR navigation enhanced with content along the path.

Where Can AR Wayfinding Technology Be Used?

Retail

AR in-store navigation can enhance the shopping experience by empowering customers to search and learn more about products. One of the biggest pain points for 64% of brick-and-mortar retail customers is the limited amount of product information available to them. Through an AR-enabled app, customers can click and learn about products they’re interested in.

AR wayfinding has been proven to lead to a 41% increase in foot traffic in a shopping mall, which translated into measurable sales growth in 4 out of 5 stores. Businesses can impact customers at the right time when they are in the range of their store and offer coupons to encourage more visits.

AR Wayfinding and spatial activations in a shopping mall

Museums and Galleries

The goal behind featuring artworks at museums and galleries is to have visitors feel connected to the pieces. According to a Seattle Art Museum (SAM) survey, many participants report wanting to learn more about exhibits, but not having sufficient information available to them. By featuring audio recordings, curator commentary, timelines, photographs, and more through the app, visitors foster not only a deeper understanding but are also more engaged. According to the study, 84% feel more engaged & find an experience more memorable if it has AR elements.

AR MetaTour and spatial activations in an art gallery

Hospitals

Hospital visitors are typically already stressed due to the nature of their visit, so AR-enhanced navigation is a simple way to take stress off patients and guide them to their appointment destination. If patients don’t have access to AR-navigation, the next logical step is to ask employees, leading to medical staff spending an average of 4,500 hours giving directions every year, which is equivalent to two full-time employees.

AR Wayfinding and spatial activations in a hospital

Stadiums

Attending a concert or event is a fun, memorable experience. What isn’t fun is when visitors can’t find a restroom or miss a key moment because they’re stuck in a concession line. AR wayfinding can display the shortest lines or specific vendors and merchandise to offer a seamless experience.

It’s not only a boosted visitor experience but a plus for business owners as well, as they highlight sponsorship opportunities and concessions, and offer coupons for merchandise revenue.

AR MetaTour and spatial activation in a stadium

How Can Augmented Reality Wayfinding Help You?

The bottom line behind AR wayfinding and navigation is that it will enhance your visitor’s overall experience, whether it’s a large, complex airport or a small brick-and-mortar store.

A hardware-free MetaMap has the potential to offer savings of up to $33,000 when eliminating the need to provide maintenance and repairs on physical wayfinding signage while staff are free to work and productivity rises as customers get to their destination with zero help.

AR is here to enhance our physical environment with visual, textual, and audio through our fingertips. Is your business ready to use AR to enable your customers to find products and services faster? Contact us to learn more about how AR Wayfinding can transform your visitors’ experience.

Digital navigation has made navigating complex places easier and more effective in the fast-paced, technologically-driven world of today. This innovative approach to navigation has transformed the way we explore and interact with various spaces, be it in large shopping malls, airports, hospitals or educational institutions. In this blog post, we will understand what digital wayfinding is and explore the top 10 benefits of digital wayfinding — shedding light on how it enhances the navigation experience, saves time and costs and fosters engagement and inclusivity. Let’s get started!

What is Digital Wayfinding?

Digital wayfinding refers to the use of digital technologies to provide navigation and guidance in physical spaces such as airports, hospitals, campuses, shopping malls and other large complexes. It enables users to access information about their current location, nearby points of interest, directions to specific destinations, and even estimated travel times in real-time. By using a combination of interactive maps, touchscreen kiosks, mobile applications and digital signage, it helps users find their way efficiently and effectively.

Furthermore, digital wayfinding systems can be customized to cater to the specific needs of different environments and user demographics. It can integrate additional features such as accessibility information for individuals with disabilities, crowd monitoring and alerts about ongoing events or disruptions. As a result, it serves as a valuable tool for organizations seeking to provide a seamless and user-friendly experience in their physical environments.

Types of Digital Wayfinding

Now that you have a better understanding of what digital wayfinding is, let us look at the different types of digital wayfinding.

Digital Static Wayfinding

In its most basic version, this solution uses an electronic map to provide users with a simple point of reference. It uses a straightforward visual structure to clearly show visitors where everything is on your campus or facility. Additionally, it can display information that highlights upcoming events and company announcements. Since it isn’t interactive or entertaining, it is the least expensive option and ideal for those on a tight budget.

Interactive Wayfinding

Touchscreen technology is used in this sort of signage, which is entirely customizable. This means that this solution provides a clear path for a person to travel from point A to point B within one’s facility. By touching the desired location, the user can then receive visual directions from the map on how to navigate from point A to point B. The visitors can then see the precise path they need to walk to reach their destination.

3D Wayfinding

This is one of the most advanced versions of wayfinding solutions. It provides a professional, eye-catching aesthetic impact while displaying the map of the place in 3D, helping visitors get more familiar with their surroundings. For instance, it will depict the path from point A to point B in 3D while also displaying a specific office or building in 3D. This gives organizations the ability to dynamically direct their visitors while showcasing a true depiction of their company. Although this approach is the most expensive, it also has the greatest impact.

Top 10 Benefits of Digital Wayfinding

Next, let us deep dive into the different benefits offered by wayfinding software –

Improved Navigation Experience

Digital wayfinding revolutionizes the navigation experience by providing interactive and intuitive solutions. Through the use of wayfinding software and digital maps, users can easily locate their desired destinations, access real-time directions and obtain information on nearby amenities. By replacing static signs with dynamic and interactive displays, digital wayfinding eliminates confusion and frustration, ensuring a seamless journey for individuals in both indoor and outdoor environments.

Time and Cost-Effectiveness

One of the primary advantages of digital wayfinding is its ability to save time and reduce costs. By offering optimized routes, users can find the shortest paths to their destinations, avoiding unnecessary detours and minimizing travel time. This proves particularly beneficial in large venues and crowded areas. Moreover, organizations can integrate digital wayfinding solutions with other operational processes, such as transportation systems, to enhance resource allocation, resulting in improved efficiency and cost savings.

Enhanced User Engagement

Thereafter, digital wayfinding goes beyond providing directions; it also engages users in meaningful ways. Interactive maps allow users to zoom in and out, toggle between different floors or levels and explore points of interest. Personalized features enable users to customize their preferences, such as selecting accessible routes or filtering by specific categories. Furthermore, digital wayfinding systems can provide additional information and promotions, enhancing the overall user experience and fostering engagement.

To learn about the top event management trends in 2023, read this.

Accessibility and Inclusivity

Digital wayfinding solutions play a pivotal role in promoting accessibility and inclusivity. They offer multilingual support, ensuring that language barriers do not hinder navigation for diverse user groups. Furthermore, audio instructions guide individuals with visual impairments or those who prefer auditory cues. By considering the needs of individuals with disabilities or special needs, digital wayfinding creates a more inclusive environment for all users.

Real-Time Updates and Alerts

One of the standout features of digital wayfinding is its ability to provide real-time updates and alerts. Users can receive notifications about delays, closures or route changes, ensuring they stay informed and make informed decisions. By integrating with various data sources, such as transportation systems or event schedules, digital wayfinding systems keep users up to date, enhancing their overall experience and reducing potential inconveniences.

Data-Driven Insights

Digital wayfinding solutions generate valuable data that can be harnessed for further improvements. By analyzing user behavior, preferences and navigation patterns, organizations can gain insights into user needs and expectations. This data-driven approach enables continuous enhancements to the wayfinding experience, optimizing navigation flow and identifying potential bottlenecks. Ultimately, data collection and analysis empower organizations to make informed decisions and provide a better user experience.

Branding and Promotion Opportunities

Digital wayfinding systems present unique opportunities for branding and promotions. By incorporating logos, colors and customized themes, organizations can align the wayfinding experience with their brand identity. Furthermore, digital displays can be used to showcase advertisements or sponsored content, providing an additional revenue stream. Leveraging digital wayfinding as a branding and promotion tool creates a cohesive and immersive experience for users while generating value for organizations.

Sustainability and Environmental Benefits

In addition to its practical advantages, digital wayfinding also offers sustainability and environmental benefits. By reducing the need for traditional paper-based signage, digital wayfinding significantly reduces paper waste. Energy-efficient displays and optimized routes contribute to a greener and more eco-friendly approach to navigation. Additionally, no staff is required to waste time putting up and taking down notifications and signs. Lastly, as no material needs to be printed, it proves to be a cost-effective solution too.

Assists During Emergencies

Digital wayfinding can serve as an emergency communication channel by leveraging its interactive and real-time capabilities. It can quickly update and display critical information such as evacuation routes, emergency exits, assembly points and safety instructions. It can also broadcast emergency alerts and notifications to users, directing them to take appropriate actions. By integrating emergency communication features into digital wayfinding systems, organizations can effectively disseminate crucial information to people in the facility, helping to ensure their safety and facilitate a coordinated response during emergencies.

Scalability and Flexibility

Last but not least, digital wayfinding solutions are scalable and flexible, making them adaptable to diverse environments and evolving needs. Whether it’s a small office building or a sprawling campus, digital wayfinding systems can be easily expanded or modified to accommodate changes in spaces or user requirements. Moreover, they are compatible with various devices and platforms, ensuring accessibility for users across different technologies and interfaces.

To learn how AI is revolutionizing customer experiences in the retail industry, read this.

Conclusion

Digital wayfinding has emerged as a game-changer in navigation, offering a host of benefits that revolutionize how we navigate and interact with our surroundings. By knowing the nuances about what is digital wayfinding you can utilize the potential to transform any environment. As we move forward in the digital era, digital wayfinding is all set to become an indispensable tool in our quest to navigate the world around us.

About ARway.ai by Nextech3D.ai

Augmented Reality Experience Platform, ARway.ai is a powerful, no-code spatial computing platform that melds the real and the virtual into a single seamless experience. One of its powerful features includes navigation and wayfinding that facilitates the creation of robust AR navigation with accurate positioning, digital directory, turn-by-turn and optimized routes. To learn more about this advanced indoor navigation solution, click here.

You walk, unseeing, down a narrow and winding path. Around you, thick mists obscure the route. From the gloom come sounds so strange they are almost too terrifying to imagine. They say this perilous route leads to your chosen destination. As you plod forward in dread, you can only hope it is true . . .

Welcome to wayfinding Halloween horror stories – chilling tales sure to set your hairs on end. As you read them and shudder, ask yourself, “how many of these dreadful scenarios have you inflicted on your customers?” Rest easy, good friend, for though the path may be strewn with sticks and stones, there is a guide able to lead one and all to safety. That trusted guide is ARway, but before we get there, we need to get through these terrifying tales!

Tale 1: Spectral Figure

You find yourself in a maze of corridors, stairwells, and elevators. Everything is topsy-turvy as you stumble along looking for something – anything – that will lead you to the “laboratory” for some “tests.” Cryptic signs point you this way and that. Around a corner, a spectral figure dressed in white glides toward you. Naturally, you panic.

Slipping through an open door to find a place to hide, you find yourself tottering on the edge of a yawning abyss. Barely able to stop your trembling, you listen – with cold sweat running down your forehead – as stones and debris fall silently to the bottom, many measureless meters below.

Heart pounding, you now race up an endless set of stone stairs that skirt the terrible shaft. Bursting breathlessly through a door, you rest to get your bearings. As your heartbeat calms, you hear someone calling your name. As you warily approach, you suddenly realize THEY WANT YOUR BLOOD!!

Poor navigation can lead to missed and late appointments – or worse. ARway’s AR wayfinding eliminates confusion and leads people to their appointments quickly, efficiently, easily, and without vampires. Doctors and nurses should be providing care, not directions. Putting high-quality AR navigation from ARway in the palm of patients hands gives back on average 4,500 hours of staff time each year.

Tale 2: Into the Maze of Madness

Picture this, if you dare. You have been dispatched on a critical intelligence mission. As you approach the bazaar where you expect to find the information you need, you see there are thousands of others around you – and hundreds of booths and stalls. All of them want to capture your name and soul (or at least your badge) to give you unnecessary shwag. How will you ever find your way through this maddening throng?

Pulling a map from your sponsored tote, you try to make sense of its bizarre markings. They guide you – you believe – to a moving staircase that descends into an even crazier labyrinth. Suddenly, the escalator transforms into a chute, and you find yourself racing into the very depths of hell!

Disoriented, you stagger to your feet. All around you, incubus and succubus are reaching for you, calling you, tempting you with every manner of tchotchke, ploy, and empty promise. Your mind is reeling – these sirens are pulling you off your course. You must not give in. You must stay strong.

Head down and shoulders squared, you march forward in what you think is the right direction. Too late, you realize all of the thousands in the teeming crowds around you are zombies! They want to do one thing: PICK YOUR BRAIN!

Large and unfamiliar spaces can be a nightmare to navigate. With ARway, finding a specific vendor is a dream. ARway also provides clear and relevant AR signage. Drawing attention and building excitement with hawkers and barkers is tres passe. ARway delivers the kinds of unique ad placements and novel experiences that sponsors love, attendees value, and management profits from. ARway makes amazing things possible.

Tale 3: Existential Angst in Aisle One

You have been given a quest. There is one treasure – and one alone – that will restore peace to the realm. Entering a maddening house of mirrors, you find yourself swept along in a fast-flowing torrent of wraiths and ghouls. You are buffeted first this way and then that, clutching in your quivering hands the holy words that describe the relic you seek.

The shrill voices of demonic imps begin to reach your ears. Your pulse quickens as you realize it is into this tumult you must go. The voices grow louder, and the chittering becomes incessant. Like the chirps of untold locusts, the sound chips away at your very sanity.

With strength you didn’t know you had, you wade through the sea of terrifying beings. Making it to the crypt where you believe the relic to be, you try to push back on the horde as they leap on your back, tug at your legs, and try to keep you from your goal.

There, on a shelf not far from you, you see your objective. Trembling, you check and recheck the sacred text. You know if the item you return with is incorrect – even by the smallest degree – you will need to repeat this quest again – and again and again – until you succeed. Just as you reach for the object, you are overwhelmed by a tide of gremlins. As you are subsumed – clutching the treasure – you realize THEY ALL WANT IT TOO!

Locating a product shouldn’t be a quest. High-quality wayfinding from ARway saves shoppers. This is important to the more than 61 percent of people who say they want to spend less time shopping. Lack of options and information can lead to lost sales – ARway allows the shopping experience to expand beyond the shelf to include every variation of every product and all the relevant information a shopper could ask for.

Spooky season may be here, but there’s no reason to shrink in fear when it comes to providing great wayfinding. At ARway, we connect the physical and digital worlds with Augmented Reality. Interested in starting your own path to get people to your location? Contact our team today and the horror will end.

With university and college enrolment numbers increasing year by year, campuses continue to expand in size. However, navigating these large campuses, especially for new students, is becoming a more pressing challenge, resulting in many students getting lost and arriving late to class. ARway provides an effective wayfinding solution to make life easier for students with accurate location information available at their fingertips.

Outdoor to Indoor AR Wayfinding for Campus Navigation

As new or prospective students walk onto campus, they’ll often see signage and maps on display at the entrance and at random intervals along their path. These stagnant pieces of information prove to be helpful only at that exact moment they intersect, as it’s hard to remember the full path and continue on. Additionally, institutions must keep up with infrastructure and commit to high annual costs and revamps if this is their method of choice. But surely, there has to be a better method. So, how can colleges and universities improve the experience and accessibility of students, staff, and visitors? ARway has the answer: outdoor to indoor wayfinding!

A Campus Map

Location pin navigation.

Even the most experienced student or staff may have trouble navigating such a large space and jumping from building to building. And with many students learning remotely, it may be their first time on campus, proving the need for an interactive campus map. ARway’s wayfinding solution makes it simple to locate classrooms, buildings, and amenities through step-by-step directions provided on-screen to a student’s device. With AR wayfinding being 2 times faster than 2D navigation using signage, students feel little stress about getting to their destination on time. Yet, it’s not simply a way to provide relief for students and faculty – it’s so much more!

Virtual Tours

Universities can enhance their physical tours with ARway’s AR wayfinding solution. With every building and Point of Interest (POI) mapped out, students become familiar with all areas on campus and seamlessly begin their college adventures from day one. The ability to plan ahead with this information is crucial, as 89% of students say campus tours are one of the most useful sources of information during the college selection journey.

Location-Based Educational and Entertainment AR Activations and Experiences

As students and staff seamlessly navigate campus via their phone, ARway enables them to learn so much more about what’s happening around them. Not everyone is guaranteed to read official emails telling them about upcoming events, so activities can be highlighted as pins on their phone for quick access to information. It can be as simple as “virtual icons of nearby events in that direction placed over reality” or more focused information, such as hovering over the library that provides their upcoming workshops.

Implementing 3D and AR activations allow universities to maximize the use of campus airspace and provide entertainment. For prospective students, one of the biggest factors in deciding which college to attend was the “physical attractiveness of a school and its setting” as well as learning about social life. As students consider a university, implementing 3D and AR is surely a way to garner and keep their attention. The University of Nayarit provides 3D visualizations of various murals on several buildings on campus which is a memorable experience for visitors.

Leverage Data Insights to Improve Campus Life

Campus administrators benefit from ARway’s mapping solution just as much as students and staff. High-traffic areas can be tracked and studied to better plan out budgets and adjust spatial layouts accordingly.

Location analytics for a popular area on a university campus.

If a certain area is particularly popular with students, administrators can highlight it as the next spot for the next internship fair or place more food vendors in the area to maximize purchases and student reach.

Interested in enhancing your campus with augmented reality wayfinding and improving the experience for students and faculty members? Visit ARway.ai to learn more.

exclusive webinar

Explore ARway.ai’s Advanced Capabilities:

Navigating New Augmented Reality Experiences

Online • Wed April 24, 2024 • 9AM EST • 3PM CEST