Geometry-aided indoor positioning

Available for an ArcGIS organization licensed with the ArcGIS IPS extension.

Geometry-aided indoor positioning uses obstacles, such as walls and columns, to refine position estimates by preventing movement that crosses physical barriers or extends beyond specified indoor positioning system (IPS) areas.

After creating an IPS positioning dataset, you can enhance it with traversability information by using the Add Geometry To Indoor Positioning Dataset tool. This data represents the possible walkable paths between two consecutive position estimates on each level of a facility within an IPS positioning dataset. These walkable paths are created within the overlap between the IPS positioning points area and the IPS area features, and are further refined using the obstacle features defined within that space. The output traversability data is stored as an attachment to the provided IPS positioning dataset, and is required to enable geometry-aided indoor positioning functionality.

A geometry-aided IPS positioning dataset can be published as an indoor positioning data service to your ArcGIS organization, which can then be used to make a map IPS aware. This service can also be used at run time to calculate more accurate position estimates by considering both signal-based indoor positioning and obstacles.

Note:

Geometry-aided functionality is not supported in the classic ArcGIS IPS Information Model. If you are using an ArcGIS IPS model from ArcGIS Pro 3.2 or earlier, it is recommended that you update to the latest version to benefit from enhanced functionality and support.

To ensure accurate traversability information is generated when using the Add Geometry To Indoor Positioning Dataset tool, it is crucial to provide input data that meets the requirements for geometry-aided indoor positioning. Before running the tool, ensure your data meets the requirements specified in the sections below.

Level features

Levels features represent the footprint of each floor contained in a facility and denote the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces. The levels layer used for the Add Geometry To Indoor Positioning Dataset tool must be the same layer used to generate the IPS positioning dataset using the Generate Indoor Positioning Dataset tool.

IPS area features

You must create IPS area features to represent the indoor areas where geometry-aided indoor positioning will be enabled.

Traversable paths are generated only in regions where the IPS area features overlap with the area covered by the IPS positioning points.

Traversable paths are generated in the overlapping area between IPS positioning points (orange) and the IPS area (green).

If users can physically move between neighboring IPS area features, ensure these IPS area features are geometrically connected. Disconnected adjacent IPS areas can result in missing traversable edges preventing the blue dot from transitioning smoothly from one area to another, leading to decreased indoor positioning performance, as seen in the example below.

Traversable paths are generated in separate disconnected IPS areas (red), resulting in disconnection in the generated traversable paths. Connecting the geometry of adjacent IPS areas before running the tool results in more connected traversable paths (blue).

Obstacle features

Obstacles represent physical barriers that block user movement within a facility. A layer that conforms to the Details layer in the ArcGIS Indoors Information model typically contains line features that can be used as input for the Obstacle Features parameter of the Add Geometry To Indoor Positioning Dataset tool.

If no existing layer is available to specify for the Obstacle Features parameter, you can create a line feature class and create obstacle features using the tools on the Edit tab of the ribbon in ArcGIS Pro.

Note:

Ensure that the selected obstacle features layer includes a LEVEL_ID field.

When choosing an obstacle features layer, ensure that the layer contains a selection with only the features that represent impassable barriers, such as walls, columns, or doorways that restrict access to spaces. Passable features that allow user movement within an IPS area, such as hallway doors, should not be selected as obstacles. Only impassable features should be treated as barriers, as seen in the examples below.

Valid obstacle features (blue) restrict user movement within an IPS area (green), such as walls, furniture, and doors to inaccessible rooms.

Doorways which permit user movement (red) within an IPS area (green) should not be selected as obstacles. In contrast, doorways that restrict user access (blue) should be selected as obstacles.

Entrance / exit features

Entrance / exit features are lines representing the transition between indoor and outdoor spaces. If a layer is specified for the Entrance / Exit Features parameter in the Add Geometry To Indoor Positioning Dataset tool, the tool generates indoor-to-outdoor transition edges to support a seamless transition between these areas.

Note:

A transition is considered valid and is only processed by the tool if it results in the creation of indoor-outdoor edges. For this to occur, the transition line feature must be placed within 2 meters (6.5 feet) of both the Level layer border and IPS Areas layer border.

A layer that conforms to the Transitions layer in the Indoors model can be selected for the Entrance / Exit Features parameter in the Add Geometry To Indoor Positioning Dataset tool. If using the Transitions layer, ensure that the features representing entrances or exits are properly configured.

If no existing layer is available to specify for the Entrance / Exit Features parameter, you can create a line feature class and create entrance / exit features using the tools on the Edit tab of the ribbon in ArcGIS Pro.

Note:

Ensure that the selected entrance / exit features layer includes the FACILITY_ID, VERTICAL_ORDER_FROM, and VERTICAL_ORDER_TO fields.

When choosing an entrance / exit features layer, ensure that the layer contains transitions that are placed close to the level and IPS area boundaries to be considered valid. Only valid transition features generate indoor-outdoor edges, as seen in the examples below.

Transition features (red) that are too far from level (dark gray ) and IPS area (green) boundaries will not generate any indoor-outdoor edges (pink) and therefore will be skipped. A valid transition feature (dark blue) should be placed close to the level and IPS area boundaries.