Indoor mapping: how indoor maps get built

An indoor map is a floor plan that knows what is on it. Not a picture of a building, but a set of rooms, routes and points that software can search, link and update.

That difference is the whole subject. A PDF of a floor plan is a document. An indoor map is a small database with a drawing attached, and it is what lets someone type “radiology” into a phone and get an answer.

What is indoor mapping?

Indoor mapping is the process of turning a building into structured, machine-readable map data. At minimum that means a base drawing of each floor and a list of named points placed on it. At the top end it includes walls, doors, accessibility routes and a full 3D model.

The output is used for wayfinding, but not only for that. The same data drives desk booking, asset tracking, cleaning schedules, space utilisation reporting and emergency planning. That is why indoor mapping projects often start in facilities rather than marketing.

How an indoor map gets built

There are three routes in, and they differ mostly in how much drawing you have to do before you start.

• From an existing plan. Most buildings already have something usable: an architectural drawing, a fire evacuation plan, or the layout the facilities team keeps. Upload it as an image and place your points on top. This is the fastest route by a wide margin.
• From CAD or BIM. If you have DWG or IFC files, the geometry is already structured and can be converted into map layers. Accurate, but it needs someone who can work with the source files.
• From a scan. Lidar and photogrammetry capture a space that was never drawn, or one that no longer matches its drawings. Increasingly practical, and still the most expensive option.

What goes on the map

The temptation is to map everything. The buildings that get value from this map the things people ask about.

• Destinations. Rooms, departments, desks, meeting spaces, wards, stands, bays. Anything a person names when they ask for directions.
• Facilities. Toilets, lifts, stairs, exits, parking, cafés, water points, first aid. These generate more searches than anything else and are the most commonly left off.
• Vertical links. Which stairwell connects which floors, and which lift reaches the basement. Without this a multi-floor route cannot be calculated.
• Accessible routes. Step-free paths, accessible entrances and toilets. In many jurisdictions this is a legal expectation rather than a nice extra.

What indoor mapping software costs

Pricing in this category splits sharply depending on whether you are buying a finished product or a toolkit to build one with.

Make an indoor map of your own building

If your goal is helping people find things rather than building a digital twin, the self-serve route gets you there in an afternoon.

With QRCodeMaps you upload the floor plan you already have, click to place a marker on each room and facility, and give each one a name and a description. That is the map. You can then print a code for any marker and put it on the wall, so a visitor who scans it sees the plan with their own position already pinned.

Because the map lives online rather than on a wall, changing it is an edit rather than a reprint. And the search log tells you what people looked for and could not find, which is the fastest way to work out what you forgot to map.

Plans start from $99 a month, and there is a free trial if you want to map one floor and see what the scan data tells you.