Indoor positioning on iOS with Core Location - not accurate?

Question

Using the sample code provided from WWDC, I've been trying to write a simple proof-of-concept app that performs indoor positioning in my office building. I have a floor plan image and replaced the standard image in the demo code. I've also done the requisite mapping of GPS coordinates to pixels for the two anchor points.

When I run the app in the simulator and specify static GPS coordinates, I see the position updated as expected in the simulator. When I run it on my phone, however, the experience isn't nearly as seamless as Apple advertised in the video. On my iPhone 5s, the positioning is all over the place, and rarely anywhere close to accurate. Even sitting next to a window with a clear line-of-sight to the sky I still get very inaccurate results.

I would assume that this might have something to do with our physical layout, WiFi topology, or other such parameters. However, I also noticed that Apple has a portal where you can register your facility for use with indoor positioning. Does this have something to do with the poor results in my app? I can't imagine how Apple would be able to help with such a scenario, but thought it might have something to do with it.

Are there other steps I should take to increase the accuracy of my app? Is there a way to leverage iBeacons for improved positioning indoors? I haven't found any documentation indicating so, but thought maybe someone here would know.

Cohe

Have you find any way to implement iOS 8 indoor map integration? Please provide step of implementation to help community. – Tobey

did you manage to make it more accurate? – Salman

Answer 1

You're right, Apple has the portal available at https://mapsconnect.apple.com

At this portal you can add your venue and Apple will guide you on setting it up. However, your venue must have all of the following attributes:

• Accessible to the general public
• Annual visitors in excess of 1 million per year
• Availability of complete, accurate, and scaled reference maps
• Wi-Fi throughout the area
• Associated app that's authorized by venue owner

If your venue has all the required attributes, then you also will need to answer these questions about your usage:

1. How are you planning to use indoor positioning? (Ads, Navigation, Delivering content)
2. How many venues would you like to enable with indoor positioning?
3. What type of venue do you have? (Airport, Hospital, Museum, Mall, Office)
4. What type of floor plans do you have? (CAD, BIM, GeoJSON, AI, PDF, PNG, etc)
5. Are the venues equipped with Wi-Fi and/or iBeacon?
6. Name of the largest venue
7. Address of the largest venue

Once you have completed the entire form and jumped through the last hoop, you will be brought to a page that confirms the details. Once done, it's all in their hands and they will contact you.

Stidham

See the WWDC 2014 talk entitled "Taking Core Location Indoors" (session 708) before you embark on this endeavor. It goes into the challenges to indoor location, the different types of sources you can obtain location, and some math for indoor positioning. IMO, even if you can't use indoor core location, it is well worth your time! – Johanajohanan

Answer 2

Indoor Positioning does not work well without addional devices like iBeacons.

There is no useable GPS receivement in buildings, the reflected signal is often far worse than 50m . GPS might work indoors if it is a single floor building with a thin roof, but this is usually not the case in indoor buildings.

The only thing that works well, is to buy some iBeacons and mount them at various locations in the office.
You have to manage the location of that beacons: they only send you an id, and (maybe?) the distance to that iBeacon. (Please check wheter you get distance to beacon)

But ios LocationService will not use that iBeacons.

So either use iBeacons or forget your project. There is no well working solution for indoor positioning. Some use magnetic fields, there is even an App for that, but this needs measuring your whole office in detail.

Beacham

As Apple have launched Indoor Positioning using Core Location Framework can I achieve indoor navigation/positioning for any location now? Is that right, I have to tell, for which location I'm trying indoor Positioning, first to apple. Any other way to achieve it now. – Salman

Answer 3

Why don't you try with the indoor SDK which can be integrated in iOS applications. Also try to give the accuracy level appropriately when you use location framework API.

Petitioner

I am using the highest accuracy level when creating my CLLocationManager. What "indoor SDK" are you talking about? There is no such framework in iOS 8. – Cohe

Have a look on developers.google.com/maps/documentation/ios/map using this SDK you can achieve indoor mapping. There are other such SDK available . And you can get accurate values.. – Petitioner

I don't know how that's going to help if Core Location isn't providing an accurate location. Additionally, it looks like making our floor plan available to Google Maps makes it public, which is a non-starter for us. This is for an office building, so we don't want our floor plan to be public information. – Cohe

This does not solve the fact that you dont have valid coordinates indoors. Your link only shows how to add custom maps such that an known geo coordinate can be shown on that indoor map. But this was not the question. – Beacham