Around 2,000 beacons have been installed across Gatwick Airport’s two terminals enabling augmented reality wayfinding, a world first for an airport. AR wayfinding shows passengers directions in the camera view of their mobile device and can help them locate check in areas and departure gates, for example.
The new navigation technology is being integrated into some Gatwick apps and the airport is also in discussions with airlines about adding indoor positioning and wayfinding tools to their app services.
With the consent of their passengers, airlines could send reminders on their airline app to late running passengers, for example, or find out where they are and make an informed decision on whether to wait or offload their luggage so the aircraft can take off on time. Retailers and other third parties could use the beacon system to detect proximity and send relevant offers to passengers who elect to receive them.
