Create the indoor network

Available with the ArcGIS Indoors Pro or ArcGIS Indoors Maps extension.

To create a routable network that supports turn-by-turn directions in Indoors Viewer and Indoors Mobile, you must create pathways representing paths a person may traverse on each level and between buildings, as well as transitions representing places where a person can travel between levels in a building. The Indoors Network toolset includes tools to help create these routable paths, which you can then use to build the network dataset using tools in the Network Analyst toolbox.

Indoors tools currently provide two options for creating pathways. The first is a lattice-based approach, which is well-suited to buildings that contain a single orientation or many right angles. The second option is based on a universal circulation approach, more closely resembling natural walking paths. This option is better suited to buildings that contain multiple orientations or fewer right angles.

Once you have generated pathways, you can configure the pathway layers as floor aware and use the floor filter to make it easier to review and work with them throughout the network creation workflow.

Creating a routable network involves the following high-level steps:

1. Create the indoor network dataset.

   Use the Create Indoor Network Dataset tool to create the indoor network and preliminary indoor network datasets.

   Note:

   You can also use Network and PrelimNetwork datasets created using the Create Indoors Database tool.

2. Generate pathways and transitions.

   Use the Generate Indoor Network Features tool to create pathways on levels of facilities and transitions to connect pathways between levels in a facility. This tool uses the Units and Details feature classes in the ArcGIS Indoors Information Model to denote boundaries where pathways cannot traverse. The tool creates vertical transitions between levels based on units defined as stairways, elevators, and escalators.

3. Create landmark points.

   For your indoor network to support turn-by-turn routing directions, you can add point features that represent landmarks that the turn-by-turn directions will reference.

4. Rank pathways.

   Use the Classify Indoor Pathways tool to prioritize pathways in hallways and open areas where routes should proceed before routing through offices, conference rooms, or similar areas.

5. Connect facilities.

   The Indoors tools do not connect facilities in the network. To support routing between facilities, you must connect the facilities in the network using ArcGIS Pro feature editing tools.

6. Create the final network dataset.

   Use the Create Network Dataset From Template and the Build Network tools to create and build the final routable network dataset.

7. Optionally, add travel modes.

   The network dataset template included in the ArcGIS Indoors product installation includes walking and wheelchair-accessible travel modes. You can create more travel modes for use in Indoors Viewer and the Indoors mobile apps.

The routable network is created and ready to be used for indoor navigation.

These steps are explained further in the sections below.

Pathways and transitions

The Generate Indoor Network Features tool allows you to create pathways that extend into every walkable space inside a facility. Walkable spaces are defined by taking the boundary polylines (such as walls, windows, and other details through which a person cannot traverse) defined in the Barrier Features parameter and applying a buffer to them based on the Buffer Distance parameter value for each level. Points and polygons defined using the Routable Locations parameter determine specific locations to which the pathways should go. Unit centroids (derived from the Input Unit Features parameter) are automatically considered routable locations when creating pathways.

There are two algorithms available for generating horizontal pathways: Universal Circulation Network and Lattice. Both options require you to identify routable locations to which pathways should be generated. Units and Transitions layer endpoints are automatically considered as routable locations when generating the network. For more locations, the following are acceptable:

• A point or polygon feature layer or feature class from an Indoors workspace
• A point or polygon feature layer or feature class that is configured as floor-aware
• A point or polygon feature layer or feature class with a LEVEL_ID field that represents which level the feature is located on

Universal circulation network

The universal circulation network approach generates pathways based on shortest paths, more closely resembling the walking path that a person might take in a space. This algorithm is best suited for buildings that have multiple orientations or lots of curves or non-90 degree angles.

Lattice

The lattice approach creates a fishnet across the walkable spaces of the level with a density determined by the value entered for the Lattice Spacing parameter.

The Generate Indoor Network Features tool attempts to align the lattice of pathways with the primary direction of travel in each facility. If the pathway features don't align with underlying spaces, you can set a custom lattice rotation value.

Transitions

In addition to creating horizontal pathways, the Generate Indoor Network Features tool can create vertical transitions between levels to represent stairs and elevators where people can move from one floor to another. Transitions are automatically created if multiple levels and a target Transitions layer are provided as an input to the tool. There is also an option to only create transitions if you’ve already created horizontal pathways.

To create multi-vertex floor transitions, such as a stairway with a landing, features must be manually updated after generation. This is not required for generating routable directions.

You can optionally add an elevator delay to the network. The tool splits the pathways intersecting with the elevator space polygon and adds the custom delay to them. Elevator delay is used by the network dataset to calculate estimated routing times during navigation.

Run the tool

To create indoor pathways and transitions and verify the results, complete the following steps:

1. Ensure that the input point and polygon features selected for the Routable Location parameter are from a layer that is configured as floor aware or that conforms to the Indoors model.

   Note:

   To connect the indoor networks of multiple facilities, use the Generate Facility Entryways tool to create points for every exterior doorway on each level. You can include the created entry points as routable locations in the Thin Indoor Pathways tool to snap the line from an outdoor walking network (such as a sidewalk) to an indoor network.

2. Run the Generate Indoor Network Features tool.
3. Add the Pathways layer to the map.
4. Configure the Pathways layer as floor aware using the LEVEL_ID field.
5. Verify the following:
   • Generated pathways extend into all rooms and are not cut by doorways.
   • If using the lattice approach, verify that the orientation of the generated pathways aligns well with the orientation of the underlying units. If necessary, adjust the Lattice Rotation or Lattice Spacing parameter values and run the tool again.

   Note:

   If you are processing multiple facilities, manually connecting a few disconnected rooms may be faster than running the tool again on the full dataset. Specific editing tools, such as the Create, Split, and Move tools ensure that all required attribute and z-information is automatically populated when creating or modifying pathway and transition features. Use these tools to quickly create and modify indoor network features and ensure proper attribution.

6. Add the Pathways and Transitions layers to a 3D scene.
7. Inspect the output transitions.
   • Vertical transition features should be present where expected.
   • Transition endpoints should connect to pathway feature nodes.
8. Address issues identified during inspection.
   • If a transition is missing, copy and paste an existing transition feature and move the copied feature as needed. This workflow ensures that all required attribute and z-information is preserved.
   • If a transition endpoint is not connected to a pathway, enable endpoint snapping and edit the transition's endpoint vertex so it snaps to a pathway endpoint vertex.

     To enable snapping, click Snapping on the status bar at the bottom of the active scene.

Manually update stairway features

After generating new transitions for a facility, you can edit the vertical transitions that represent stairways (as well as escalators and ramps) so the transitions follow the path a pedestrian would take, moving upward at an angle and horizontally across any landings. This can improve route length and travel time calculations, as well as provide a more realistic 3D display.

To make the edits, modify the transition feature's vertices. For example, if a stairway has a landing, you can add new vertices to represent the landing, move them to the appropriate x- and y- coordinates, and edit their z-values to position the new vertices halfway between levels.

To update stairway features, complete the following steps:

1. Select the transition feature to update.
2. Move the transition feature's lower end vertex to where the lower end of the stairway is located and snap the vertex to the nearest pathway feature on the lower level.
3. Move the feature's upper end vertex to where the upper end of the stairway is located and snap the vertex to the nearest pathway feature on the upper level.
4. If there is a landing midway along the transition, add new vertices to the transition and position the new vertices where the landing is located.

   When working in a 3D scene, you may find it easier to move each new vertex to a specific coordinate location.

5. Verify that the transition's endpoint vertex z-values match the corresponding level's pathways z-values.
6. Repeat the steps above for each transition you want to update.
7. When all transitions are updated, right-click the LENGTH_3D field, click Calculate Field, and type !shape.length3d! in the LENGTH_3D = text box.

   This calculates the Length 3D attribute for correct travel time along the updated transition features.

Create landmark point features

You can use landmark point features when creating directions to provide callouts for an enhanced experience. You can create landmarks before or after the network dataset has been created and update them as needed without re-creating the network dataset. Any landmark within 4 meters of a route is identified in the directions, so it is important to choose landmarks that are relatively sparse and easily recognizable.

Landmark points are typically generated from existing features that were used to generate the pathways. You can also manually create individual landmark points.

To create landmark points from an existing feature class, complete the following steps:

1. Select the features you want to serve as landmarks.
2. Use the Append tool to add the selected features to the Landmarks feature class in the indoor network dataset.

   Tip:

   Maintain the default schema map in the Field Map parameter.

3. Verify the new landmark features are properly attributed.

Rank pathways

You can rank the pathway features to improve wayfinding and directions. When solving a route, primary pathways are preferred over secondary pathways. You can reduce routing through spaces that may be in use (for example, a conference room with two doors) by ranking pathways in those spaces as secondary.

You can rank pathways by running the Classify Indoor Pathways tool. This tool splits and ranks pathway features as secondary based on the selected unit spaces. Select unit features using the Select By Attributes tool before running the Classify Indoor Pathways tool. Paths associated with unit features you select are ranked as secondary. You can check the ranking of a pathway in the Pathway Rank field in the Pathways feature class.

Add pathway features between facilities

To route between multiple facilities on a campus, you must create outdoor pathway features manually to connect indoor networks. Pathways are created using the Create Features pane. To snap to an existing network, add the Pathways feature class to the map.

Tip:

If any of the facilities you need to connect contain more than one level, you can use the floor filter to review and work with pathways that are on the ground level.

To add pathway features, complete the following steps:

1. On the Edit tab in the Features group, click Create .

   The Create Features pane appears, listing the feature templates defined for the active map.

2. In the Create Features pane, click the Pathways feature template.

   The Pathways template expands, showing the tool palette.

3. On the Pathways template, click Active Template .

   The tool palette and the feature attribute table for the Pathways template appear.

4. Click the Attributes tab and set the following parameters:
   1. Set Pathway Type to Hallway / Sidewalk (1).
   2. For Vertical Order, type 0.
5. In the Create Features pane, click Line to create a line feature.
6. Click an endpoint on an existing pathway feature at the doorway of the facility to start the outdoor feature. Add vertices as needed to draw features between facilities.

   Tip:

   If you used the Generate Facility Entryways tool to create entryway point data, and used those points as Routable Locations with the Thin Indoor Pathways tool, you can snap the line endpoints to the appropriate entryway points.
7. Create the endpoint of the line at an endpoint of the existing pathway feature at the doorway of the second facility.
8. Update more pathways in the same way if necessary.

   Note:

   You can use the Create tool with a floor-aware Pathways layer to create pathway features with an automatically calculated Length 3D attribute, ensuring the correct travel time along any new pathways.

9. Save your edits.

Create the final indoor network dataset

The final indoor network dataset, created from the thinned and ranked network, can be used for indoor routing.

To create the final network dataset, complete the following steps:

1. Run the Create Network Dataset From Template tool to create the Network_ND network dataset.

   Use the FinalNetworkTemplate_Meters.xml file included with the ArcGIS Pro installation as the template. The template is located in the <installation location>\Program Files\ArcGIS\Pro\Resources\Indoors\NetworkTemplates folder.

2. Run the Build Network tool to create the final indoor network dataset.

   Use the Network_ND dataset created using the Create Network from Template tool as the input network dataset.

Add travel modes

The network dataset template included in the Indoors product installation includes walking and wheelchair-accessible travel modes. You can create more travel modes with supporting network data based on your organization's needs. All travel modes defined in the network are available for use in Indoors Viewer and the Indoors mobile apps. The Indoors mobile apps display a unique icon for travel modes that have specific names.