What are indoor positioning analytics and why are they useful?

As you may already know from some of our previous articles about indoor positioning technologies, an Indoor Positioning System (IPS) can most easily be explained as a “Google Maps for indoor venues”.

It is a technology that allows users to accurately pinpoint the location of people or objects inside a building using tags, beacons, or the interaction between a mobile device’s sensors and the geomagnetic landscape of the building itself.

Most Indoor Positioning Systems are used to provide indoor navigation inside buildings, but some of them are even able to automatically produce a large amount of analytics revealing interesting data about spaces and how people use them.

But which are the primary uses of indoor positioning analytics?

Let’s find it out in the following few paragraphs.

Analyze visitors’ flow

Indoor Positioning Systems can elaborate anonymous data about: the flow of visitors, most popular areas and time, peak visit times, as well as new vs. repeat visitors.

This is particularly useful for several businesses, as this kind of data helps to effectively segment targets depending on the time they spend in a specific area. Think for example of an advertising agency that wants to purchase an ADV space in an airport’s lounge: with the analytics provided by the system, the airport will easily have the opportunity to prove with great accuracy how many passengers will get the chance to actually see the ADV.

The same can be said for a shopping center management trying to identify a new mandatory path inside its building. Stats about the visitors’ flow will reveal which areas are more appreciated and which ones deserve a relocation to be better visible or promoted.

Real-time analytics provided by Hidonix through its Indoor Positioning System

Increase the security of indoor spaces

Indoor positioning analytics is also a useful tool to guarantee the security of buildings.

To name just one application of indoor location in this field, data extracted from actual usage are key to elaborate evacuation plans. This data can help to make predictions about the areas at risk of overcrowding and the paths people are more likely to follow in case of danger.

Improve the comfort of workspaces and building management

By integrating IoT sensors into workspace solutions and matching their data with the ones coming from an Indoor Positioning System, it is possible to improve space planning, monitor room comfort, implement smarter working, and optimize facilities management.

For example, the system monitoring the flow of workers in a free time area of a big company’s office can detect dangerous overcrowding during a certain time span and therefore suggest the management plan other free time spaces or reconsider the planning of work breaks during the day.

Also, this combined system is able to suggest money-saving solutions which could positively influence the environmental impact of offices or any other workspace.

Indoor Positioning analytics are just a part of the advantages you can get from adopting an Indoor Positioning System to better manage your venues and assets.

Visit this page to know more about all the indoor location services we offer through our white-label platform ION.