Why Indoor Navigation Poses Greater Challenges Than Mapping India's Roads
While digital maps have revolutionized outdoor navigation across India, finding your way inside buildings remains surprisingly difficult. Indoor navigation is increasingly being positioned as the next frontier of digital mapping, yet scaling this technology has proven far more complex than building outdoor navigation systems.
The Structural Challenges of Indoor Wayfinding
Several fundamental factors make indoor navigation particularly challenging. GPS signals do not work reliably indoors, creating the first major obstacle. Unlike outdoor maps that benefit from publicly available geographic data, indoor maps are privately owned assets, requiring individual permissions and custom mapping for each building. This fragmentation makes achieving scale significantly harder.
"GPS doesn't work indoors, indoor maps aren't publicly available, and every building requires collaboration with owners and operators," explained Pulkit Sapra, co-founder of IWAYPLUS. "That's why indoor navigation hasn't scaled the way outdoor navigation did."
Current Adoption and Commercial Models
A growing number of Indian startups are attempting to make indoor navigation commercially viable. Companies like Rannlab Technologies operate as B2B providers, offering indoor positioning systems primarily for worker safety and asset tracking rather than consumer navigation. Others, including IWAYPLUS, build enterprise-grade indoor maps while also enabling consumer-facing navigation for visitors.
The commercial models vary significantly based on facility size. For mid-sized facilities like malls, hospitals, or corporate offices, initial setup costs typically range from ₹5 lakhs to ₹25 lakhs, with additional recurring maintenance fees. For large airports or warehouses, providers often charge between ₹2 to ₹8 per square foot for the entire ecosystem.
IWAYPLUS clients include prominent institutions like AIIMS Jammu, Ashoka University, and Brookfield Candor Techspaces. Another player, beComap, works with enterprises including HP, GMR Airports, Honeywell, and multiple large retail and healthcare venues across India and the Middle East.
How Indoor Navigation Technology Works
Most indoor navigation systems rely on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals rather than GPS. When users enter a building, their devices can be detected similarly to how Wi-Fi networks identify nearby devices, even without active connection. This technology utilizes device identifiers like MAC addresses, which raises important privacy considerations.
The precision requirements for indoor navigation are significantly higher than outdoor applications. "Outdoor GPS is designed for meters, indoor use cases need sub-meter to a few meters as you're dealing with far denser environments where signals are obstructed by walls, people, and materials," noted Akash Bhatia, co-founder of Infinite Analytics.
Privacy Concerns and Infrastructure Requirements
Indoor navigation systems face stricter compliance and data-protection requirements, particularly in sensitive environments like airports, hospitals, and workplaces. The technology's reliance on device identifiers that constitute personally identifiable information necessitates careful privacy safeguards.
These systems typically depend on custom infrastructure—Bluetooth beacons, Wi-Fi networks, and various sensors—that varies widely between buildings, making standardization difficult. "These systems can also raise privacy and compliance concerns, particularly when location signals intersect with device identifiers," added Bhatia.
Big Tech's Strategic Approach
Despite the challenges, major technology companies continue investing in indoor navigation solutions. Google and Apple have embedded indoor maps and positioning into their consumer platforms, while global retailers and logistics players like Amazon have developed internal indoor mapping systems to optimize warehouse operations.
In India, telecom giants are entering the space with innovative approaches. Reliance Jio is developing location-intelligence platforms such as Jio Xplor that extend indoor tracking through telecom- and IoT-led systems rather than standalone consumer apps.
Public infrastructure is gradually adopting these technologies too. Examples include AIIMS Delhi's Bluetooth-based Disha app and MapmyIndia's integration with Delhi Metro systems. As airports, hospitals, warehouses, and campuses continue digitizing operations, indoor mapping is becoming integrated into broader location and analytics platforms.
Market Potential and Future Outlook
Globally, the indoor navigation market represents significant economic potential, estimated between $20.77 billion and $37.54 billion with annual growth rates of 23.1% to 41.4%. The technology offers tangible business benefits—"hyper-localization" that identifies exactly which aisle a customer is in can increase "conversion at the shelf" by up to 20% according to industry reports.
As Indian infrastructure continues expanding with increasingly complex campuses, hospitals, airports, and logistics hubs, the necessity for effective indoor navigation solutions grows more pressing. While asking strangers for directions remains common practice today, technological solutions are gradually emerging to address this complex navigation challenge.
