Get ready to meet Incrediscope, indoor navigation for a new era

The post-Covid world is (hopefully) just around the corner and it is one where the adage “two is a crowd” has never been truer. In this new cautious landscape, Visionect, in cooperation with our consortium partner UniSystem, is hoping to redefine how people move in indoor spaces. 

The two companies joined forces long before the global pandemic, merging their expertise and know-how in EUREKA, the world’s biggest public network for international cooperation in R&D. Supporting innovation beyond borders and backed by the European Regional Development Fund, the initiative’s highly selective process recognized Visonect and UniSystem’s innovative approach and cutting edge innovation powered by experience. 

Thus began the development of Incrediscope, a personalized indoor wayfinding system to enable intelligent people flow in office buildings, shopping malls, airports and more. The final product, said Visionect way back in 2017, was set to hit the market in the summer of 2021. 

Who could have known just how timely this launch would be.

The rules have changed

The new coronavirus has more than changed the public space landscape, ushering in a “brave new world” which, much like in Shakespeare’s famous verse, can hide a myriad of before unseen dangers. 

And if the focus used to be on enhancing the visitor experience by implementing wayfinding signage that personally addresses your needs, guiding you step by step from where you are to where you want to be, a new layer of functionality is now needed when it comes to indoor wayfinding. Be it a hotel, shopping mall or office, it’s no longer just about signage that tells you when to turn left and when to take the escalator, informing you how long it will take to get to your destination and letting you know you are running late. It’s now also about creating a danger-free place for visitors, implementing extra precautions when it comes to health. 

Strategically placed, wireless e-paper signs can help simplify this difficult task. Just like in Belgium, where retailers are using Visionect-powered signs to communicate capacity information in real time, informing customers about wait times or the number of people in the store. 

Introducing Incrediscope

Incrediscope is a perfect combination of the two new “musts” from the paragraph above: a digital signage system that offers personalized wayfinding peppered with rules of social distancing to respect, making sure visitors get from point A to point B as quickly and safely as possible.

So, how does it work?

The Incredscope system consists of autonomic e-paper displays installed at each crossing and at strategic points in a particular building or store. The displays are triggered via proximity detection, using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to connect with a mobile app installed on a visitor’s smartphone. The visitor is identified and promptly provided with personalized, simple instructions for further movement. 

It is certainly a massive improvement over the most common method of indoor navigation today: static plans, boards or signposts that are located in a limited number of places or are often poorly visible. Perhaps more crucially, these traditional approaches cannot be easily adapted to support ad-hoc changes in routes or the (now necessary) limitations in using the space. 

Intuitive and hassle-free

Incrediscope, on the other hand, will allow for easy deployment in any indoor space and for simple system configuration thanks to its wireless communication, mobility (the displays are completely cord free!) and incredible low power consumption.

Even more, the system does not require any additional investments from the building administrator, only the preparation of the simplified map of the building. 

Using the Incrediscope system will be intuitive and comfortable, even for people unfamiliar with new technology, forever redefining how people move in indoor spaces. Global pandemic or not. 

So get ready for when the doors finally open! Get in touch and find out more about Incrediscope and how we can help navigate the new normal. Drop us a line at info@visionect.com.