IndoorFlow Launches Indoor Navigation in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi
Mitsui Fudosan and Ashirase have commercialised IndoorFlow, a smartphone-based indoor navigation service for underground passageways and commercial facilities where satellite positioning is difficult. The service became available to the general public free of charge on 1 October in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi area, and the companies announced the commercial launch on 2 October.
IndoorFlow initially covers the underground passageway of Tokyo Metro Mitsukoshimae Station and six commercial facilities directly connected to it. The facilities are COREDO Muromachi 1, COREDO Muromachi 2, COREDO Muromachi 3, COREDO Muromachi Terrace, Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower and YUITO. The coverage lets you navigate across the station passageway and connected buildings, rather than being limited to a single indoor facility.
The Nihonbashi area attracts large numbers of visitors from Japan and overseas for commerce, business and tourism. Its underground and indoor spaces link the station, passageways and commercial facilities, but GPS can struggle to determine a user’s current position in these settings. Conventional navigation applications can also struggle to provide route guidance across these connected spaces.
IndoorFlow uses a smartphone camera to capture the surrounding environment and applies Visual Positioning System (VPS) technology, an image-based method of identifying location, to determine the user’s current position and orientation. It provides guidance to destinations based on the user’s needs through audio, vibration, and augmented reality (AR) visual information.
The service supports six languages and was initially launched as an application for Apple’s iPhone. The platform has a large user base among visually impaired individuals. A web-based service is planned for future expansion.
Before launch, Mitsui Fudosan and Ashirase conducted validation testing with 42 visually impaired individuals and wheelchair users. The testing recorded a 100 per cent destination arrival rate. Mobility anxiety eased for 88 per cent of participants, while 95 per cent could reach more places on their own.
Honda engineers founded Ashirase in 2021 as a startup spun out of Honda to support mobility for visually impaired individuals. The company already provides a navigation system that uses a device attached to shoes to give directional guidance through vibration.
IndoorFlow uses image-based positioning technology also used in smartphone games. The system matches pre-created three-dimensional maps with footage captured by a smartphone camera to identify the user’s current location and orientation. Ashirase’s technology can build spatial data for an area of about 3,000 square metres with about 10 minutes of filming using a 360-degree camera. Proprietary artificial intelligence-based walking technology then provides high-precision location information.
The Nihonbashi implementation is being used as a model case for further development. Mitsui Fudosan is considering expansion into the redeveloping Yaesu area, as well as the vicinity of Tokyo Station and nearby hotels. These possibilities are being considered based on service usage patterns.
The companies are also considering mobility support for MICE events, including business events, international conferences and trade shows. The proposed use of IndoorFlow would connect stations, underground passageways, accommodation facilities and event venues within a single navigation environment.
The companies plan to gradually expand the facilities and guidance routes covered by the service, taking user feedback and operational results into account. The wider expansion is also meant to include other areas. The broader objective is to establish urban environments where everyone can move between stations, underground passageways, accommodation facilities, commercial buildings, and event venues without getting lost.
