With the development of information technology, indoor space information technology has become increasingly mature and has become an indispensable part of people's lives and work. Whether it's commercial places or public venues, through indoor maps and indoor positioning technology, we can easily find where we want to go in maze-like spaces.
The initial idea for developing indoor map information technology originated from the pain point that GPS technology cannot cover indoor areas. With the support of increasingly popular smartphones and Wi-Fi networks, major technology companies have launched various indoor positioning technologies. Currently, this technology is still developing rapidly. To better understand this field, we specially invited Dr. Nie Peilin, founder of Guangzhou Smartcube, for an interview. Let's listen to his views on the development of indoor space information technology.
To ensure clarity and coherence, the following interview content has been edited and organized.
Q1: In recent years, indoor space information technology has received more and more attention. Could you first explain how to understand indoor space information technology?
A1: Indoor space information technology has indeed been quite hot in recent years. Before understanding indoor space information technology, let's first review GPS positioning technology. GPS positioning technology is a global satellite positioning system used for outdoor space positioning, including military and civilian uses. The Baidu Maps and Amap that we commonly use now all use outdoor positioning technologies such as GPS and Beidou, while indoor positioning technology is mainly targeted at indoor environments. In the absence of GPS signals, we can only locate through other positioning methods. This is the difference between the two.
Q2: What are the advantages of indoor space information technology? How is it different from traditional maps?
A2: I think indoor positioning technology is a trend because many indoor applications require location information support, such as underground parking lots and large shopping malls, which need positioning in specific spaces. However, indoor positioning cannot use GPS signals and can only be positioned through iBeacon, UWB, or other technologies. But currently, the most cost-effective is iBeacon positioning technology, which can not only achieve usable positioning accuracy but also has lower research and development costs, making it more acceptable to people.
I believe there are two differences between indoor space technology and traditional maps: First, dimension hierarchy. Traditional maps are more about outdoor plane positioning, and the scale we need to pay attention to may be larger; while indoor positioning needs to enter buildings, which have floor distinctions, so it is a layered, three-dimensional map, but 2D maps cannot better display spatial information. Second, the accuracy orientation. The accuracy of indoor maps is higher than that of outdoor GPS. The accuracy of our general civilian GPS is about 10 meters, and with iBeacon technology support, the accuracy of indoor positioning is 1-3 meters. If some auxiliary equipment is added, indoor positioning accuracy can reach centimeter level.
Q3: What is the relationship between indoor space technology and digital twins and metaverse?
A3: Indoor space technology supports digital twins and the metaverse, and they have a virtual-real interaction relationship. The metaverse is a virtual digital world, and it is not completely separate from the real world. In the entire technical system of the metaverse, like digital twins, indoor space positioning technology is an important support for them. Indoor positioning technology can perform more precise positioning of virtual digital objects in the metaverse space, allowing digital twin systems and metaverse systems to establish a virtual-real interaction relationship with the real world.
Q4: When did Guangzhou Smartcube start working on indoor space information technology? What has Guangzhou Smartcube done in indoor space technology and what breakthroughs have been made?
A4: The initial core R&D personnel of Smartcube came from the intelligent transportation field based on GPS positioning technology, and then entered the indoor positioning field with the deepening of research. Indoor maps and indoor positioning have different signal sources and data sources from traditional map technologies, but the R&D ideas are the same. We require higher positioning accuracy, accurate and visually effective 3D maps, and effective integration of spatial and non-spatial information. Our company has mainly developed independent 3D map engines and positioning algorithms, and developed some tools for quickly building maps from the bottom. These are some independent intellectual property rights and core technology products we have obtained during the R&D process. These products have now been empowered to different industry fields, such as smart healthcare and smart campuses.
Q5: You mentioned empowerment, what is the future development trend of indoor space information technology? Which industries and scenarios will indoor space technology empower? Will it bring new business opportunities?
A5: The development trend is definitely that the application areas of technology are getting wider and deeper, a process similar to the initial application of GPS positioning, starting from specific industries and then expanding to a wide range of industries. I believe indoor positioning technology will have the same development trend. Currently, indoor positioning technology is still in a blue ocean stage, continuously growing upward. The current market has greater demand for hospital and shopping mall scenarios, but there will be more industry applications in the future.
With the continuous deepening of the Digital China strategy, large indoor spaces will also apply indoor positioning technology, bringing more convenience to end users and improving the work efficiency of managers. In fact, location-based information services are not new things. We call it LBS, which stands for Location Based Service, first proposed in the 1970s. Even 10 years ago, indoor positioning technology was expensive and immature, but now it has reached a practical stage. Therefore, with the continuous improvement of technology, indoor positioning technology will bring many business opportunities to offline industries, such as: precise push streaming, location-based interactive games, and metaverse applications. The indoor LBS industry will definitely become more and more, and combining indoor positioning technology with business models will definitely give birth to new business opportunities.