2020 International Conference on Decision Aid Sciences and Application (DASA)
A Low cost Augmented Reality system for
Wide Area Indoor Navigation
​Vivek Dosaya​
Department of Information​
​ Science and Engineering​
2020 International Conference on Decision Aid Sciences and Application (DASA) | 978-1-7281-9677-0/20/$31.00 ©2020 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/DASA51403.2020.9317014
Ramaiah Institute of Technology,​ ​Ramaiah Institute of Technology,​
​Bangalore, India
​vkdosaya@gmail.com
​ kshay Beniwal
A ​ Shraddha Tak
​ ​Department of Information
S​ cience and Engineering​
​ Ramaiah Institute of Technology,​
​Bangalore, India
​akshaybeniwal12@gmail.com
Abstract — In today's world, there are a lot of outdoor
navigation apps for visually challenged people, but there
are none that can precisely tell a user's location inside a
large structure. Indoor navigation is a complex task for
the visually challenged as well as for the general public,
especially in large structures like malls, airports,
museums, factories, etc. Present solutions and technologies
are not cost-effective as well as complex. Hence, we are
proposing a low-cost model that uses Augmented Reality
to place virtual anchors across a structure, so a person can
navigate from one location to another with the help of
these anchors. The model doesn't use technologies like
GPS. Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence but
here, the anchors placed are pervasive and persistent
across the indoor environment for smooth navigation.
Once placed, these virtual anchors remain at their location
and can be used at any time by any person registered on
our app. This model can be extended for the general
public in any indoor space and also can be enhanced by
gamification for better user interaction and retention. This
model can also be extended to collaborate with the
Aarogya Setu app, which can help us identify routes that
go through spaces through which covid positive patients
have passed which in turn helps us avoid those routes in
real-time navigation.
Keywords: Augmented reality, GPS, Blind Navigation,
Indoor Navigation, Mixed Reality, Unity, Covid-19, Vector
Mapping.
© IEEE 2021. This article is free to access and download, along with rights for full text and data mining, re-use and analysis.
Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on190
​ hashwat Varshney
S Vijaya Kumar Parameshwarappa
​ Department of Information ​Department of Information
​ Science and Engineering Science and Engineering
​Ramaiah Institute of Technology,
​Bangalore, India ​ Bangalore, India
​ s.varshney9761@gmail.com vijaykbp@yahoo.co.in
​Department of Information
S​ cience and Engineering
​Ramaiah Institute of Technology,​
​Bangalore, India
​shraddhatak810@gmail.com
I. INTRODUCTION
Wayfinding and Indoor Navigation in Modern Times is
important and essential. There are multiple scenarios
where these are needed the most but are not available, or
are inaccurate or slow in functioning as seen in the case
of navigating museums, theme parks, finding an item in
a grocery store or helping a visually challenged person
navigate through a large structure. We also aim to make
navigation accurate and easily accessible at all times in
all circumstances. Few of the challenges of indoor
navigation are pinpointing the exact location of a user
inside a structure because GPS will show the same
location even if the person is on different floors, another
challenge is to use data from Aarogya setu app in our
routes as the data provided is with respect to outdoors
and is not an exact location inside any indoor structure.
Various studies show that Covid-19 is an airborne virus
and hence can spread to anyone who inhales the air
exhaled by an infected person. Hence, social distancing
is of paramount importance in these times.
We chose AR for this application, as it enables us to
make sure that a smartphone is the only requirement to
use our application. With almost everyone having a
smart phone the user has to pay no additional amount to
acquire any new piece of hardware. All the updates to
May 14,2021 at 22:27:20 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 2020 International Conference on Decision Aid Sciences and Application (DASA)

the applications can be pushed remotely without the
need of physically going to a location. AR maps a
location on the basis of surroundings instead of latitude
and longitudes, hence it can accurately tell us about on
which floor the user is standing, which is not possible
with GPS. However, there are certain limitations of
using AR, for example, it is not very effective in the
dark. Any indoor location has to be moderately to highly
lit in order for it to work.
The Aarogya Setu app collects four categories of data—
demographic data (like travel history, name, age,
gender), contact data (the proximate distance between
the individuals), self-assessment data (by answering
various medical related question in the app) and location
data(latitude and longitude of a user’s position). This is
collectively called response data. In a scenario where a
covid positive patient uses our app for navigation, we
can see which all virtual anchors were travelled by this
person which in turn can help us avoid using these
anchors in future routes for other people so the spread of
the virus is minimised. Remaining sections of the paper
includes the following: Section II, discusses the related
works in the areas of Augmented Reality. These papers
have helped to explain the limitations of navigation
using augmented reality and how they tried to overcome
those limitations. Section III, describes the system
design of our model. It tells the entire flow of the app
with respect to a user. Section IV, discusses the
implementation of the project, explaining how virtual
anchors are placed in the real world and how with the
help of spatial sound (emitted from these anchors).
Section V, shows how the deserted results were achieved
despite the challenges we faced during the
implementation. Concluding remarks are narrated in
section VI along with how we can extend this project for
better navigation for large factory workers and offices.
applications was written in [2] to achieve accurate and
precise visualization. In [3], the system uses a camera to
determine the user's position by detecting
non-interfering fiducial marks in real time. In [4],
Sebastian Kasprzak et al. proposed a system for
navigation in indoor spaces using augmented reality.
In [5], the augmentation consists of a space-time map of
the maze overlaid on the real-world maze. Rainer Mautz
and Sebastain Tilch [6] observed that by fusing data
from images and sensors (such as INS, GNSS or
magnetic sensors), the performance of optical
positioning systems can be improved. ​[7], Xiao A et al.
Et al. designed a system to locate users in large indoor
spaces. The system uses common objects as references,
such as windows, tables and doors, to locate users.
Giudice et al [8] observed many Mobility aids or
Electronic Travel Aids for blind people. They described
4 important factors important for implementation of
technology aiding Blind Navigation : Sensory
Translation Rules, Selection of Information, Device
Operation, Form and Function.In [9] ​Vijaya Kumar B.P
et al discusses extent of the tasks scope in horticulture
business, stock administration offices and other farming
partners. In ​[10] Naresh et al describes the primary
accentuation of this work is to decide the ideal purpose
of testing and impediments faced while choosing an
ideal point for a test.
III. PROPOSED MODEL

The proposed model aims at limiting the use of

II. RELATED WORK
hardware, GPS, and other computationally intensive
Some of the works relating augmented reality, cloud technologies such as Deep Learning, Artificial
Intelligence, etc in the field of navigation and instead
computing and mobile computing navigation are briefly
use Augmented Reality to overcome challenges faced in
explained in this section. indoor navigation.
In [1] L. Atzori, T. Dessi and V. Popescu describes the
location of the user in the indoor environment is
estimated by only relying on the sensors of commercial
smartphones.The implementation of mobile phone

Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on191

May 14,2021 at 22:27:20 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 2020 International Conference on Decision Aid Sciences and Application (DASA)
A. SYSTEM DESIGN
Fig. 1, illustrates the proposed architecture of the
implemented Augmented model.
The architecture uses client side architecture where the
mobile app interacts with the Microsoft azure
cloud.There are three components to the presented
system, the user, the mobile application and the cloud.
For the mobile application we have used Unity to
compile an Swift app bundle that makes our application
run on an iOS device. For cloud we have used microsoft
azure cloud that acts as our database for storing the
virtual anchors. All the virtual anchors are associated
with a beeping spatial sound whose frequency and
loudness depends on the proximity and direction of the
user with respect to the spatial anchor. If the user is
walking in the direction of the spatial anchor the
loudness increases prompting the user to keep walking
in the same direction. If the user is not facing the anchor
then the frequency of the sound decreases. He can then
turn around and see which direction has the maximum
frequency and that will be the correct direction.
Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on192
May 14,2021 at 22:27:20 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
​Figure 2. User Interaction and control flow diagram.
Fig. 2 Illustrates the flow of system procedure with the
real time functioning of the AR application. Here in the
deployment, the virtual anchors are placed across the
structure also to ensure that the anchors are at a
sufficient distance from each other and unblocked by
any physical object. Placing an anchor involves scanning
of that surrounding, which creates a vector map that
stores key features of the surroundings. Figure 3,
illustrates the interaction of each part of the application
that complements each other. Now once a user opens the
application he is asked to scan his surroundings and the
destination. The scanning helps us make a vector map
with which we can find the closest virtual anchor. Figure
5, illustrated how the anchors look when placed in the
real world. Now the closest anchor emits spatial sound
ie, it’s loudness depends on the proximity and frequency
depends on the direction. A user can then easily navigate
these anchors. After passing through an anchor the next
next anchor enroute destination starts emitting the spatial
sound. Similarly after crossing every anchor the next
anchor starts emitting spatial sound until the user
reaches his destination. User Interface :The user
Interface consists of a mobile application which when
launched scans his surroundings to find his location
within the structure and the nearest anchor point, user is
then prompted for the destinations and then all the
anchors enroute user's destination are lit up.
Figure 3. Data flow for the proposed system
B. Functional Requirement
First time users will have to enter credentials and enter
the application. ​Whereas already existing users will be
authenticated by our OAuth flow every time they open
the app without having to enter credentials again.
 2020 International Conference on Decision Aid Sciences and Application (DASA)
Native development kits of iOS and Android such as
ARkit and ARCore will scan the user’s location to create
A vector of the user's surrounding data and on
completion will ask the user about the destination he
wants to go to. This data is sent to our API which sends
it to Azure cloud to find the destination Anchor. Once
found all the anchors from the user's location to the
destination appears on the screen. The user is asked to
follow the beeping sound of the closest anchor. The
sound intensity and frequency varies on the distance of
the user from the anchor and the direction in which the
user's phone is. With the help of this sound the user
crosses the anchor. On crossing every anchor a success
sound is emitted to notify the user.
a. Procedural requirements for reaching the location
Description and Priority: A set of anchor points will be
put on the screen of your phone from your present
location to the destination location. Nearest anchor point
will emit a spatial sound. Stimulus/ Response Sequence:
There are various responses from the mobile application
to keep user on track for example: on crossing an anchor
successfully the anchor emits a success sound while on
reaching the destination there is a voice message
informing the user that he has reached the destination,
all the queries are voice based. Detailed Requirement
Sequence:
REQ-1: Active internet connection in user’s phone.
REQ-2: Move the device to scan the surrounding and to
place the anchor points for the navigation.
REQ-3: A safe route is formed after taking the data
from Arogya setu app so that the user does not come in
contact with the route travelled by an infected person.
REQ-4: Send a voice message to the user to follow the
beeping sound to reach your destination.
REQ-5: As the person moves in the direction of the
anchor the loudness of the sound increases. To find the
direction of the anchor he has to follow the frequency of
beeping sound.
REQ-6: After reaching at the location app will notify via
voice message that you have reached your destination
safely and successfully.
b. Hardware Functional Requirements
An android phone must have the following attributes:
RAM of 5466 MBs, minimum screen size of
Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on193
May 14,2021 at 22:27:20 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
1080*2280, minimum screen density of 440 ppi. An iOS
device must have the following attributes: A10 Fusion
chipset, a minimum screen size of 750*1334, minimum
RAM of 2024 MBs.
c. Software Functional Requirement​s
For an android phone the software attributes must be:
Android 10 and above, ES version 3.2 and above. For an
iOS phone the iOS version should be 13 or above.
Currently, almost 40% android users have android 10
and above on their devices and 82% iOS users have iOS
13 and above. It is poised to increase by the next phone
renewal cycle and by then we will have more people
having access to this technology.
Pseudo Code
Procedure 1: For Mapping a structure
Input:​ ​Live feed from the user’s camera.
BEGIN:
Step 1:​ ​Scan the environment ​(feature vector map)
Step 2:​ ​POST the data ​ // * for backend database *//
​ Step 3:​ ​ On SUCCESS ​walk to the next point
​ // * to place the next anchor *//
Step 4: ​Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until the user reaches the
destination​.
END
Procedure 2: For navigating the structure
Input: ​Source S, Destination D, Anchors A, and live
feed from user’s camera.
BEGIN
Step 1:​ Input​ (present location and D​)
Step 2:​ ​Scan the environment (f​ eature vector map​)
​Step 3​:​ GET request​ //*​ to fetch the nearest anchor
point on the basis of feature vector map *//
Step 4:​ Render (​All anchors from S to D​)
Step 5:​ ​Identify the direction with beep sound
Step 6:​ Rotate phone towards high frequency beep
Step 7:​ Repeat steps 5 and 6 ​// * until to reach D
with success sound *//
END
 2020 International Conference on Decision Aid Sciences and Application (DASA)

​IV IMPLEMENTATION PLATFORM

We have implemented this model using Unity. Unity

gives us a compiled app bundle which can run on the
iOS device. The scanning of the environment is done
using native bundle provided by iOS which is called
ARKit. It helps us create a vector map of the user's
surroundings. We have used the azure cloud for backend
and database. All the anchors are stored in azure and can
be used at any time when the app is under use. Figure 5
shows the results of the working system where the
anchors are loaded in the requested path to guide the
user. These anchors are saved in the cloud and they will
persist forever and are shared to other users also.

Figure 5. A typical working module of the system

they are placed in relation to the first anchor, as in how
far or how high or low are they with respect to the first
anchor. Hence all we need to find is the first anchor and
the rest would appear without any processing.

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Figure 5, shows the prototype application in action. The

Figure 4. Proposed Functional Modules
Internally, for placing the first anchor in a structure we
scan the surrounding of that anchor which creates a 3
dimensional feature vector map. This feature vector map
is a set of unique values of the surroundings in 3
dimensions, so if we scan that location again we will be
able to find that particular anchor again.The next set of
anchors do not need any scanning of the surroundings.
Augmented Reality App was developed successfully.
The initial usability test verified the system as a proof of
concept for using augmented reality for indoor
navigation. Based on the results the system will be
further elaborated. The results clearly showed that the
user reached his requested destination by guiding
through the application. Once the application starts then
the system will proceed with the voice message of the
user and that should be initiated by the destination, and
then the virtual path is loaded using the anchors and the
virtual arrow signs that will guide the user.The user has
to point his phone camera towards the anchors and a
sound will emit when the user moves towards the
anchors the frequency of the sound will increase and
when he points away the sound frequency will decrease.
These anchors are saved in the cloud and they will
persist forever and are shared to other users also. The
user merely needs to pass each anchor to retrieve the
arrow to the next anchor. Compared to existing
techniques the implemented application stands apart in
its ability to constantly improve with performance and
simplify navigation. Systematic method was followed

Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on194

May 14,2021 at 22:27:20 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 2020 International Conference on Decision Aid Sciences and Application (DASA)

throughout the project from coming up with an idea,
together in requirements, designing the model and
consequently implementing it. Testing [14] was done to
tackle parts of various kinds. There are a few limitations
we faced while implementing this idea such as the
technique was not effective in poorly lit rooms. This
technique not yet deals with notifying a visually
impaired user if there is a person or an obstacle in his
route.
VI. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE
With this system we are bringing a change in the lives of
visually impaired people by easing navigation in indoor
spaces and also reducing the risk of getting infected by
covid-19. This model can be extended to be more user
friendly by gamification of the existing flow which can
have animated characters at certain checkpoints enroute
a user's destination. We can use object detection
algorithms to detect any moving objects which can come
in the way while the user is following virtual anchors
and instruct user’s about them so there are no collisions.
We can also enhance the model for better functionality
when stairs are involved in the routes. Individuals spend
most of their time in indoor spaces and as such, the
importance of indoor positioning techniques increases.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank our beloved principal, MSRIT
for his support and encouragement. We would like to
express our sincere thanks to all the teaching and
non-teaching faculty of the ISE Department and my dear
friends who helped in all the ways while working on the
project.
REFERENCES
[1] Luigi Atzori, Tiziana Dessi and Vlad, Popescu,
“Indoor Navigation System using Image and Sensor
Data Processing on a Smartphone”, ​2012 13th
International conference on Optimization of Electrical
and Electronic Equipment(OPTIM), ​Brasov,
Romania, July.2012
[2] M. Kessel and M. Werner, “SMARTPOS: Accurate
and precise indoor positioning on mobile phones”,
Proceedings of the 1st International Conference On
Mobile Services Resources and Users Barcelona, pp.
158-163, 2011.
[3] A. Mulloni, D. Wagner, I. Barakonyi and D.
Schmalstieg, "Indoor positioning and navigation with
camera phones", IEEE Pervasive Computing, vol. 8, no.
2, pp. 22-31, 2009.
[4] Kasprzak, S., Komninos, A., & Barrie, P. (2013).
Feature-based indoor navigation using augmented
reality. Paper presented at the 2013 9th international
conference on intelligent environments.
[5] B. F. Goldiez, "Techniques for assessing and
improving performance in navigation and wayfinding
using mobile augmented reality", 2004.
[6] Sebastian Tilch, Rainer Mautz, "CLIPS
proceedings", Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation
(IPIN) 2011 International Conference on, pp. 1-6, 2011.
[7] Xiao A, Chen R, Li D, Chen Y, Wu D. An Indoor
Positioning System Based on Static Objects in Large
Indoor Scenes by Using Smartphone Cameras. Sensors
(Basel). 2018;18(7):2229. .
[8]​Giudice, N.A.; Legge, G.E. Blind Navigation and the
Role of Technology. In The Engineering Handbook of
Smart Technology for Aging, Disability, and
Independence; Helal, A., Mokhtari, M., Abdulrazak, B.,
Eds.
[9] ​Vijaya Kumar B.P, Mahadeva M N K, M. S. Pawan
Ranjith, N. D. Nadig and Nikita M K. P, "Augmentation
on Satellite Imagery with Information Integrated
Farming," ​2019 IEEE International Conference on
Electrical, Computer and Communication Technologies
(ICECCT)​, Coimbatore, India, 2019, pp. 1-5, doi:
10.1109/ICECCT.2019.8869021.
[10] Naresh, E., Kumar, B. P. Vijaya Kumar.,
Niranjanamurthy, M., & Nigam, B. (2019). Challenges
and issues in test process management. Journal of
Computational and Theoretical Nanoscience, 16(9),
3744–3747.
.

Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on195

May 14,2021 at 22:27:20 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.