¶ Measuring Radiomap
The Radiomap Measurement approach means measuring the target location's radiomap on foot via an Android device with the Navigine Demo Application installed.
By this moment you should have infrastructure deployed and maps (locations) implemented.
If you are seeking information on where and how you should create reference points, refer to the "Golden Rules" for Radiomap Measurement page at the bottom of this page.
¶ Preparing the Infrastructure
Deploy the iBeacon and WiFi infrastructure in the location that you are going to measure. For information on setting up the infrastructure, refer to
- Setting Up iBeacon Infrastructure
- Configuring Wi-Fi Infrastructure
¶ Configuring the Demo Application
You need the Android Demo Application installed on your Android device first. To get it,
Install the Navigine Demo Application for Android from GitHub repository or from Google Play.
Switch on the Android device's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules.
Select the location that you want to work with. For detailed guidelines, see Location Management.
¶ Adding iBeacons to the Map
You can add iBeacons to your map via Navigine Web Client or through the demo application. Consider using the latter, as in this case you won't need to enter iBeacon device's parameters into the indoor navigation system manually.
¶ Add iBeacons via Demo Application
In case you have already added iBeacons to your map via the Navigine CMS, skip this step.
To add iBeacons to your map via the Navigine demo applications,
Run the Navigine Demo App.
Run the Measurement mode via the corresponding button.
Approach the iBeacon that you want to add. Keep the Android device as close as you can.
Tap
the Beacon button. All beacon settings will be automatically read and save in the indoor positioning and navigation system.
In the Add beacon dialog tap Start.
Wait about 5 seconds while the application detects the closest iBeacon and reads its parameters.
NOTE: If the timer does not stop after 5 seconds, there might be conflicting beacons nearby. To avoid potential conflicts, make sure there are no other beacons in the area (5-7 meters).
Repeat steps 3-6 until you add all iBeacons.
Upload the map to the Navigine server via location manager:
In the application's main screen tap the Location management button.
Tap the cloud button with arrow in it to upload the map.
Wait for the information about your locations to download to the target device.
If everything went OK, you can start radiomap measurement. Refer to Measuring the Radio Map for details.
¶ Adding iBeacons via Web Client
To add iBeacons to your map via web client,
Switch to the Locations tab, select your target location, and sub-location.
Activate the Add beacon tool.
In the ADD BEACON dialog, specify the beacon's parameters:
- Description - you can add beacon's name here.
- UUID - specify the unique name of the iBeacon
- Major - beacon major identifier
- Minor - beacon minor identifier
- RSSI per meter - measurement of the power present in a received radio signal
Click Add. The beacon's icon should appear in the map.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for all beacons you have deployed in the target location.
Click Save.
If everything went OK, you can start radiomap measurement. Refer to Measuring the Radio Map for details.
¶ Measuring the Radio Map
IMPORTANT: do not start radiomap measurement until you add all iBeacons to map. For guidelines on adding iBeacons to the map, refer to Adding iBeacons to the Map.
To measure the radio map of the target location:
Run the Navigine Demo App.
Run the Measurement mode via the corresponding button.
Specify your current physical location via the aim mark symbol on the map.
Tap
the Point button (where <point> is the type of object you want to create).
In the Add point dialog tap Start.
Wait for the % indicator in the top part of the screen to reach 100% for the currently measured reference point, which should take around one minute.
- You can find the most important information about measuring at the top of the screen, including the following:
- Name of the currently measured object
- Time spent on measuring
- Measured object quality in percentage
- Number of Wi-Fi (W) and Bluetooth (B) signals scanned per second
If the W or B value equals 0, check if the device's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules are enabled. 0 value might also hint you that there might be other related issues, for example: there are no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth emitters in the area, or something blocks your device from receiving the signals.
- STOP button that enables you to interrupt the measurement process. Tap it if you want to re-measure the object or you don't want to wait for 100% quality.
Repeat the measurement process until you create enough reference objects.
¶ Measurement Recommendations
Map measurement process is indicated in percentage in the upper part of the Android device's screen. 100% means that the application gathered enough information for effective navigation. Normally the process takes about one minute.
In the case when radiomap measurement process takes longer than one minute (you see that the % indicator got stuck), do the following:
- Check your devices Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules' status
- If the modules are active, go back to the Main menu, select Navigation mode, push the Function button, and tap on Console to see the list of the currently available Wi-Fi and Bluetooth emitters. In the case when the amount of emitters is too low, consider increasing the power of the existing beacon's transmit signal, or add more emitters into the infrastructure.
In the case when the gathered radiodata is broken or incomplete, consider re-gathering. Prior to gathering the data once again, remove the existing reference point via tapping its red crest symbol in the map and then tapping Delete.
If the current master location contains more than one sub-locations, you have to measure radiomaps of all sub-locations, otherwise navigation will not work.
¶ "Golden Rules" for Radiomap Measurement
Consider the following "golden rules" when measuring radiomaps:
The points should form a grid with distance about 3 meters between each point.
Measure at least 8-10 points per 50 square meters.
The more reference points you create, the better the navigation accuracy is.
Reference points should cover the target location evenly.
Add some points near the location's borders and passageways, which should help the application to determine the location's geometry and increase navigation accuracy.
Do not change the device's position, as it might distort the radiomap and decrease the navigation accuracy.
In bottlenecks create points along the walls.
Also consider turning away from the nearby walls to avoid the gathered information distortion.