So You Think AR Wasn't Made For Navigation? Let Us Prove You're Wrong!

Way-finding is defined as the various ways in which people orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place. There has always been a need for information systems that guide people and enhance their understanding and experience within an environment.

This is why our public spaces such as roads, malls, and transportation hubs are filled with signs and directions — so people can reach their desired location efficiently even in a large and unfamiliar space. This is especially true in places like large retail centres, amusement parks, self-guided tours, and museums, to name a few.

The cool thing is that AR way-finding is one of the most fitting tools towards addressing this very old and very real issue. There are two ways in which we can accomplish AR way-finding: for outdoor way-finding, we are using GPS coordinates, and for indoor way-finding, we are using computer vision, real-time 3D mapping, and visual positioning.

For the purpose of this video, we’ll only be focusing on outdoor way-finding. In this example, you’re getting an inside scoop on a recently completed mobile AR way-finding app, which gets people to various points of interest in the area. You can see here that as I pivot around while holding my phone, I receive feedback on my proximity to a couple of nearby museums and some information about each one.