Wi-Fi positioning best practices

[SimonMarin]

Hi everyone. 

I'm Trying to config the ArcGIS IPS whit WiFi positioing.

However, I don't have a guide or parameters to help me perform well with the IPS.

Somebody has achieved the IPS with WiFi ? or has a document with specifications to get IPS with good performance?

thanks

[ips_Dejan]

@SimonMarin 

I have shared the answer in a private message as there were quite a lot of details to cover. 
Put simply, Wi-Fi deployments require separate setups on Android and iOS platforms and some additional configuration. It is some extra effort, but certainly doable

[jhurst]

Hi,

I am trying to achieve the same thing. Kindly provide me with the details you mention in your previous answer, as I could not find documentation online for setting up IPS with WiFi only. Thanks a lot in advance.

[ips_Dejan · Accepted solution]

Hi jhurst,

to set up Wi-Fi positioning in ArcGIS IPS Setup you will need to make some adjustments on the survey, preparation and configuration sides. There are a couple of hurdles you will have to overcome to enable it for each platform (android / iOS) and it needs to be done separately for each.

The reason for that is that Apple keeps their survey APIs locked and therefore prevents us from scanning and collecting Wi-Fi signals within the IPS Setup app. This means that in order to enable Apple (wifi) IPS, the whole survey process needs to be done using their tools (Indoor Survey app + business registry sandbox) and data format (IMDF).
If you want to enable Wi-Fi positioning on iOS though, it will require a bit of extra work:
You will need to convert your building (ArcGIS Indoors) data into Apple's IMDF format first using a translation tool (e.g. FME Workbench)
Once you successfully transform the data into IMDF format, the creation of Apple registry business account is required. Next, you’ll have to import newly created IMDF into their sandbox and verify that there are no critical errors in your data. This step might take a few attempts/iterations in case you need to go back and forth to fix any errors that might be caught. Sandbox does have editing capabilities, so if the geometry errors are minor, you might even be able to fix them right there on the spot.
As mentioned, Apple does not allow us to scan and survey for wifi signals on their platform from the IPS Setup app as we do on Android. That is why, once your IMDF data is accepted and successfully passes the review (which can take 12-48hrs), your building(s)' floor plans will be available in the Apple’s Indoor survey app and you will need to perform the survey. Please note that the survey process itself is relatively similar to ArcGIS IPS survey, with one difference being that it does not include drafting of the survey paths in advance like we do. Instead, you are simply walking around your environment and submitting/confirming “visited” locations.
When you complete the survey, upload the data directly from Indoor Survey app and again wait (up to 24hrs) for apple to process it. Once that is completed, the app will indicate that you can Test Indoor Positioning. This can be done directly in their app, but also in our IPS Setup app as apple IPS positioning is automatically picked up by our positioning engine on iOS devices.

On the other side, Android does not have such limitations, but it does limit the amount of scans for Wi-Fi signals that a device is capable in a short time frame. I believe this is for “battery optimization purpose” and it means that the throttling (when enabled - default) prevents our SDK from producing frequent enough position updates. It is simple enough to disable the throttling via Android system Developer options but still presents an inconvenience each user would need to do manually. This is the limitation that affects ArcGIS IPS positioning and signal survey, so for ArcGIS IPS to work as expected, you will also need to enable Developer Options for your device and disable Wi-Fi scan throttling that would negatively affect the performance. With throttling enabled, android device’s system limits the number of scans which means that ArcGIS IPS positioning engine, does not receive enough signals for stable position updates. Good news is that you can execute the survey the same way you would if you were setting up BLE (beacon) based IPS, as long as you change the app configuration first.
Collecting Wi-Fi surveys with IPS Setup app requires app configuration changes - in user Profile menu, under the Configuration section select “Network” and change the Survey Radio Type to Wi-Fi. Then perform the surveys as usual and run GIPF gp tool to generate a Wi-Fi positioning file.

I hope this clarifies your questions. 
Please let me know if I can help any further 

[jhurst]

Thank you for this detailed answer.

If I upload my indoors-data into Apple's sandbox and have it approved by Apple, does this mean that my indoors data will necessarily also be published to Apple Maps for everyone to see? Or can I upload it and collect the WiFi Fingerprints using Apple's tools, and only use it in ESRI's apps later.

If my floor plan data is necessarily published through Apple Maps, this solution would not be appropriate for non-public buildings, e.g. office buildings.

Thank you for sharing your insights.

[ips_Dejan]

Hi @jhurst,

Apple allows you to check the box about making your data public, so you do have the option to retain the privacy restrictions. They do not automatically add your dataset to Apple Maps, if that is the worry you might have. 

IPS positioning engine consumes Apple location and displays it with Esri tools (i.e. IPS Setup, ArcGIS Indoors app, etc) equipped with it. As long as you are using one of those for your testing and/or use purposes, iOS devices will be using Apple IPS when relying on Wi-Fi IPS.

Hope this clarifies your concerns.

Dejan