Will Apple add indoor maps of your buildings to Apple Maps?
Apple will add indoor maps of the publicly accessible areas of airports to Apple Maps, but only after having received the explicit permission from the owner/operator. Apple Maps does not include indoor maps of other kinds of buildings, public or private.
Will Apple make your IMDF files or indoor maps available to third parties, for example Apple developers?
No. Indoor maps shown in Apple Maps are not made available via MapKit or MapKit JS. In that way your organization retains control over which developers have access to your indoor map. You can easily display your indoor map on top of the MapKit/MapKit JS map using the available overlay APIs in MapKit and MapKit JS.
Do I need to re-survey if I change the location of my Wi-Fi access points?
Generally not for minor changes, for example the addition or deletion of a Wi-Fi access point. However, if you replace your entire Wi-Fi network a re-survey of the building will need to be completed using Apple's Indoor Survey app. Major changes to interior walls might also affect the quality of indoor positioning and might cause the need for a re-survey.
How do I get access to the current floor level information provided by Apple indoor positioning?
Floor level is provided by the Core Location API and also by the Safari browser on iOS. It is returned as an integer: zero for ground floor; positive numbers for above ground, negative numbers for below ground. You can correlate these number to the floor names in your app or website.
Does the user need a data connection to use indoor positioning?
As the user approaches the building, indoor positioning data is automatically downloaded to a user’s iOS device. This requires a data connection. Once this data is downloaded indoor positioning can work well with no data connection.
Do I need to enhance my Wi-Fi network to offer indoor positioning?
If there is sufficient coverage to support Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the building, whether the Wi-Fi be public or private, then it should be sufficient to support indoor positioning. The Wi-Fi access points must be broadcasting a radio signal at 2.4GHz. No connection to any Wi-Fi network is required for indoor positioning, but Wi-Fi on the device must be switched on.
Are BLE beacons required to enable indoor positioning?
No. Apple does not use beacons for indoor positioning. However iBeacon can be used to complement indoor positioning, for example to trigger an alert on a user’s iPhone when they approach a customer service desk.
Does Apple provide an indoor wayfinding API?
No. There are a number of third party developers that specialize in providing this capability. See section on third party platforms.
Does Apple indoor positioning work on platforms other than iOS?
No.
Which third party platforms support IMDF?
Apple works with a number of third parties that provide platforms for creating and updating IMDF as well as APIs to display IMDF. Some of these platforms also provide APIs for other indoor features such as indoor wayfinding. See table below.
| Provider/Product | Create/Edit IMDF | Manage Content | Map Display API | Indoor Way-finding API | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autodesk/Bim360 Ops | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Autodesk BIM 360 Ops is a mobile- first asset and maintenance management solution. Transform a Revit file into IMDF for use in BIM 360 Ops with Apple Indoor Positioning to show technicians and vendors a path to their assigned ticket or a nearby asset, track mobile assets with iBeacons, and view a list of new tickets as a heat map on a floor plan for better triaging. | |
| Compathnion | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Provides site surveys, SDK toolkits, content management platform, and analytics services using different big data, artificial intelligence and edge computing technologies. |
| Dent Reality | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Augmented Reality navigation and Indoor Maps, for shopping centres, airports, campuses and more. End- to-end solution, with a full-featured IMDF map builder, and mobile SDK. |
| Esri/ArcGIS Indoors | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ArcGIS Indoors provides an indoor mapping system for assembling, managing, and sharing building and campus information. |
| EVS Software and IMDFaaS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | EVS provides iOS native warehouse management solutions; their IMDF Service is focused on quickly creating IMDF maps. |
| IBM/Tririga | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | IBM TRIRIGA delivers insightful solutions for intelligent real estate and facilities management. The linked code pattern enables integration of IMDF and Indoor Positioning into all Tririga web apps. | |
| KNS/Venuex | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Provides a platform for indoor mapping with SDKs, APIs and a Content Management System (CMS). Venuex works with shopping centers, airports, hospitals and universities. |
| LocusLabs | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Provides a content management system for indoor mapping. LocusLabs works with many airports and casinos. |
| MappedIn | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Provides a content management system for indoor mapping. MappedIn works with many shopping center operators. |
| Mapxus | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Provides an indoor mapping technology platform that provides indoor map services for global applications. |
| Mapsted Corp. | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Mapsted provides a full suite of services for IMDF maps across their products, offering beacon-free indoor location technology for a wide range of industries. |
| Navv-Systems | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Provides an hospital oriented indoor mapping solution that removes waste and improve productivity by focusing on coordinating staff without communicating patient information. |
| Office of Museum Research | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | OMR provides full-service indoor mapping, positioning, digital building management, and custom software development with a focus on value- driven customer service, and a commitment to open formats like IMDF. |
| Point Consulting | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Point Consulting’s Point Map solution enables the creation and integration of indoor maps and way- finding into mobile apps and web sites. |
| Safe Software/FME | ✔ | Safe Software provides a general purpose platform for data conversion and data pipelines. The platform includes comprehensive data format translation tools and validators for IMDF. To learn more contact partners@safe.com | |||
| Visioglobe | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Visioglobe provides a Saas solution for indoor Map creation, that allows IMDF format import and export. The solution includes Web and native mobile SDK for visualization, leveraging Apple Indoor Positioning System. |
| YAP | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | YAP specializes in visualization for retail, healthcare, and museums. YAP provides industry-leading mobile app development services with expertise in iOS, Augmented Reality and indoor maps. |
| YinzCam | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Specializes in the complete Sports Fan experience. Venue maps, mobile loyalty, in-stadium replays, augmented reality, and more. |
Where is the Indoor Maps Program available?
Registration is open to these countries:
| A-D | E-L | M-R | S-Z |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Ecuador | Macao | Samoa |
| Albania | Egypt | Madagascar | San Marino |
| Algeria | El Salvador | Malawi | Sao Tome and Principe |
| American Samoa | Equatorial Guinea | Malaysia | Saudi Arabia |
| Andorra | Eritrea | Maldives | Senegal |
| Angola | Estonia | Mali | Serbia |
| Anguilla | Eswatini | Malta | Seychelles |
| Antarctica | Ethiopia | Martinique | Sierra Leone |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Falkland Islands | Mauritania | Singapore |
| Argentina | Faroe Islands | Mauritius | Sint Maarten |
| Armenia | Fiji | Mayotte | Slovakia |
| Aruba | Finland | Mexico | Slovenia |
| Australia | France | Micronesia | Solomon Islands |
| Austria | French Guiana | Moldova | Somalia |
| Azerbaijan | French Polynesia | Monaco | South Africa |
| Bahamas | French Southern and Antarctic Lands | Mongolia | South Sudan |
| Bahrain | Gabon | Montenegro | Spain |
| Bangladesh | Gambia | Montserrat | Sri Lanka |
| Barbados | Georgia | Morocco | St. Barts |
| Belarus | Germany | Mozambique | St. Kitts and Nevis |
| Belgium | Ghana | Myanmar | St. Lucia |
| Belize | Gibraltar | Namibia | St. Martin |
| Benin | Greece | Nauru | St. Pierre and Miquelon |
| Bermuda | Greenland | Nepal | St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Bhutan | Grenada | Netherlands | Sudan |
| Bolivia | Guadeloupe | Netherlands Antilles | Suriname |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Guatemala | New Caledonia | Sweden |
| Botswana | Guinea | New Zealand | Switzerland |
| Brazil | Guinea-Bissau | Nicaragua | Taiwan |
| British Virgin Islands | Guyana | Niger | Tajikistan |
| Brunei | Haiti | Nigeria | Tanzania |
| Bulgaria | Honduras | Niue | Thailand |
| Burkina Faso | Hong Kong | Norfolk Island | Timor-Leste |
| Burundi | Hungary | North Macedonia | Togo |
| Cambodia | Iceland | Northern Mariana Islands | Tonga |
| Cameroon | India | Norway | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Canada | Indonesia | Oman | Tunisia |
| Cape Verde | Iraq | akistan | Turkey |
| Caribbean Netherlands | Ireland | Palau | Turkmenistan |
| Cayman Islands | Israel | Panama | Turks and Caicos |
| Central African Republic | Italy | Papua New Guinea | Uganda |
| Chad | Jamaica | Paraguay | UK |
| Chile | Japan | Peru | Ukraine |
| Christmas Island | Jordan | Philippines | United Arab Emirates |
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands | Kazakhstan | Pitcairn Island | Uruguay |
| Colombia | Kenya | Poland | USA |
| Comoros | Kiribati | Portugal | Uzbekistan |
| Congo | Kuwait | Puerto Rico | Vanuatu |
| Congo, Republic of | Kyrgyzstan | Qatar | Vatican City |
| Cook Islands | Laos | Republic of Korea | Venezuela |
| Costa Rica | Latvia | Reunion Island | Vietnam |
| Croatia | Lebanon | Romania | Wallis and Futuna |
| Curaçao | Lesotho | Russia | Yemen |
| Cyprus | Liberia | Rwanda | Zambia |
| Czech Republic | Libya | Zimbabwe | |
| Denmark | Liechtenstein | Åland Islands | |
| Djibouti | Lithuania | ||
| Dominica | Luxembourg | ||
| Dominican Republic |