How to build inhouse map navigation for iOS application?

Question

I have a requirement mentioned below:

• Already have a floor plan map image
• First detect current location on floor
• Then select the destination location using floor plan map image
• Now application should provide direction & distance for that source to destination path
• This is like how google direction works, but its in-house map require.

For example, - Current position of user is: At his desk - Where is Meeting Room #11 - So application should provide direction and distance updates on the map/floor plan image.

Any kind of suggestions/help would be great.

Thanks in advance

Refinement

If you're going to use user location based on their GPS coordinates, your map will need to be geocoded. You will need at least lat and long coordinates for top left and bottom right corners of the map, as well as for all the "interest points" i.e. meeting rooms etc. You may have a problem with accuracy though as it sounds like your user will be indoors and may struggle with GPS satellite locks. – Bobodioulasso

Also do you have any ideas, have you tried anything or are you expecting someone to just dump the solution on an answer here for you? – Bobodioulasso

Hi Rog, yes I have to find solution for the same. And I found that Google indoor is one thing, which acts in similar way. But I guess it has restriction for desktop & android only, it is not supporting iOS devices. – Refinement

And what you mean to say about geocoded map. How to achieve that one? – Refinement

Hi @Rog: I have got the coordinates for top-left and bottom-right and interest points - Now what should I require to draw direction for path. (From-to location) ? How to achieve that one? – Refinement

Show us what you have tried? – Bobodioulasso

Hi @Refinement have you got solve your problem? can you please explain me as i have same things to implement – Subreption

Answer 1

Couple of points...

You could create various audio files and play them as way points based on routing. Same principal as 'turn right at the next light'.

Definitely want to set your accuracy to: kCLLocationAccuracyBest. But this will still probably only get you accuracy of around +/- 10 meters at best.

Do a floor plan overlay using MapOverlayView.

If you are indoor, iPhone uses cell towers or WIFI for a location fix. This might be a problem for you because if you are looking to map multiple floors, only GPS can give you altitude readings - ground floor, second floor, etc...

I don't want to pour cold water on your idea but I have not heard of anyone successfully doing an indoor navigation app on an iPhone using standard stuff. If you really wanted to move forward on this project, your best accuracy might be using indoor bluetooth transmitters as navigational beacons...?

Bani

That's really great inputs.. Thanks :) – Refinement

Answer 2

What you want is path-planing in the map, is that? If so, there is lot of algoritms you can use. You can choose a block size based on your map and resolution needs, divide de map into this, amd mark each block as navegable or not. Then getting from the first block trying in the direction of the destionation block, check if the neighboor block is blocked or not, and get going, until you reach (or not, if its not reacheable) the destination block.

Thats a pseudo-implementation, you have some option to do it, if I understand your needs.

(I dont know your hardware as said by others, with simple GPS and indoor navigation, assuming a 15m resolution is a good balance between optimistic/pesimistc signal, If its for robot-navigation, its not a goos approach in the GPS terms, but the algorimt is).

Singspiel

A bit of consideration on the hardware. Even GPS wont give you engouth resolution to find the floor you are on (considering 15m resolution, for indoor navigation thats optimistic). Now to be more realistic, GPS is little used for indoor navigation, in fact only for big environvemnts, what you have I think, is a camera and acelerometers, dependending on the use (robot navigation you can get good results) but for user navigation thats really difficult to archive. Even for robot navigation that you have the hardware configured for that, its not simple with low cost hardware. – Singspiel