UAE National Develops Indoor Mapping Application for Smartphones

UAE National Develops Indoor Mapping Application for Smartphones

Smartphones and their accompanying applications have made navigating around cities and finding a required destination a simple task.

Users now can just log onto Map services provided by a number of global companies to find their way around any city in the world.

With the outdoors mapped so thoroughly and in such great detail, users now wish for a similar system to be in place when they navigate inside big buildings, such as finding the admissions office at a university or locating your favourite brand’s store at a new mall.

However, applications providing indoor navigation are highly limited since mapping every inch of every building is a huge and cumbersome task.

An Emirati student though seems to have found the answer to people’s indoor navigation needs.

21-year-old, Buti Mohammad Al Delail, a graduate from the Khalifa University, Sharjah Campus, has developed a brilliant and easy-to-use indoor mapping application.

Named the ‘Context Aware Visual indoor Augmented Reality’ application (CAViAR App), it uses the latest in Augmented Reality technology and image recognition to help a user navigate through buildings.

A user just needs to take a snapshot of the building, store or any other place he is currently positioned at for the application to deliver his/her exact location and using Google Maps can guide the user to their new destination.

The app can also track the user’s footsteps and update the location in real-time.

Currently the app is in its development stage and can only be used by students studying at the Khalifa University, Sharjah campus.

Buti said about his latest development for which he was awarded the fourth prize at the Khalifa University’s Mobile Application Contest.

He said, according to the Khaleej Times:

“CAViAR is now implemented at the Khalifa University Sharjah campus and uses the professor’s name and room number written on the doors to pinpoint the location.”

Adding further he said:

“It also uses voice recognition to recognise commands such as ‘Where is Dr Luis Weruaga?’ and shows you the direction to his office. It can also trace the user footsteps while walking in order to update the location.”

He also said that the app can be implemented to map buildings throughout the world in the future.

Compatible with all of the most popular smartphones such as Blackberry, iPhone, iPad, and all Android devices, the application is the first software of its kind developed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Buti is preparing to pursue a Masters degree in the future and is looking to map further buildings and landmarks for his app.

He is proud to be given recognition for his efforts and also added that nothing in life is impossible to achieve and his young generation is ready to contribute to the future while also showing that the UAE boasts great talent in its youth.