Design and implementation of an iPad web application for indoor-outdoor navigation and tracking locations

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to develop an iPad application as part of Otaniemi Open Project. The application helps new visitors in positioning and navigating both indoor and outdoor in Otaniemi campus of Aalto University. In addition to the main features (positioning and navigation), the application also assists users manipulating calendar's scheduled events spatially.

A variety of related technologies and methods have been studied to select the best suitable ones for developing the application. The technologies studied basically provide information about comparing different positioning techniques and that how they can be used while considering different factors like accuracy, precision and finances available.

The application's user interface is developed using the open web standards like JavaScript, Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). The web frameworks used are PhoneGap, OpenLayers and Sencha Touch. The background maps used are Bing Maps and Open Street Map, the user can switch between the two maps.

The indoor routing maps of the buildings are overlaid upon the respective buildings in Bing Maps and Open Street Map. The path generated from one place to another is shown graphically in the foreground of the application. The process of generating the indoor maps involves much manual work but the future goal is to automate the whole process.