Smart phone based indoor navigation for guidance in public transport facilities

A system for indoor navigation in public transport transfer buildings was designed and implemented as an element of a dynamic seamless mobility planning and travel guidance application for public transit networks of urban and metropolitan areas. The main components of the smartphone based system use data from WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, camera and pressure sensor as well as inertial measurement units for Pedestrian Dead Reckoning and multi-level navigation in arbitrary building structures. Map data of multi-level buildings is collected from OpenStreetMap data being enhanced by geo-referenced escape/rescue floor maps displayed on the mobile device. Navigational aids collected from sensors provide en-route orientation and position updates. The indoor route over multiple levels, elevators, stairs and escalators is calculated by a combination of route search and grid based pathfinder algorithm. Changes of floor levels are detected by relative barometric pressure measurements.