GoodMaps Features, Terms & Definitions

The GoodMaps app has lots of cool features that make indoor navigation easy and fun. Here's a list of all the things you can do while using it, as well as definitions for some words you may or may not have heard before.

Important note for screen reader users: If you are using a screen reader on your phone–like Voiceover on iPhones or Talkback on Android phones–“tap” means a double tap with one finger. “Press and hold” means to double tap and hold with one finger.

Camera-based Positioning System (CPS): GoodMaps uses your phone's camera to identify where you are inside a building. For camera-based positioning to work, technicians must first visit a school and walk through the building with what's called a "LiDAR scanning device." The LiDAR camera collects thousands of 360-degree pictures and videos, as well as building measurements. All of those images go into a database and matched with a map of the building. Then, when you use GoodMaps to help you navigate a scanned building, the app uses your phone's camera to compare images of where you're standing, where you're walking, and where you want to go to the images in the database.

Directory: When you select the Directory button from the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen, you can filter locations by destination (e.g., restrooms, stairs & elevators, points of interest, etc.) or by floor. From there, you can select a destination you want to travel to and start a route.

Favorites: You can add destinations to the Favorites page, which can be found in the Menu in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. To add an indoor destination to your Favorites, simply press and hold the destination button in the Directory. A pop-up screen will appear that will allow you to "Add as Favorite." For example, you might want to mark destinations you travel to regularly like one of your regular classrooms or the gymnasium as a “favorite.”

Haptics: Haptic feedback is a unique vibration you feel when interacting with different elements of your smartphone. GoodMaps uses haptics to reinforce directions while you're routing and to alert you when you have arrived at your destination. For example, when you have arrived at your destination, you will feel a small vibration and hear a tone to indicate success.

Panoramic Motion: So that GoodMaps can determine your location, you should hold your phone up vertically, with the camera facing out. Rotate the camera slowly back and forth – from left to right, right to left –e until the camera scans enough visual information about your surroundings to know where you are.

Point of Interest (POI): Specific landmarks labeled on the map of your building like the gymnasium, the principal’s office, a row of lockers, or a classroom.

Tones: Unique sounds you hear when interacting with different elements of your smartphone. GoodMaps uses tones to reinforce directions while you're routing and to alert you when you have arrived at your destination.

Turn-by-Turn Navigation: GoodMaps provides accurate turn-by-turn directions to help you get to a desired location within one meter of accuracy. Once you have begun a route, the app will tell you how far to walk and when to turn so that you can get to where you're going safely, independently, and as quickly as possible.

Tutorials: GoodMaps provides tutorials that are designed to help you understand how the app works, as well as how to properly access and use different app features. The first time you use the GoodMaps app, you will encounter an interactive tutorial that allows you to practice holding the phone properly, scanning to find your position, and walking with the phone. If you want to review these tutorials again later, they can be found in the Menu in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.

Explore All Buildings: When you launch the GoodMaps app, you can either check in to a nearby GoodMaps building or you can explore all of the buildings around the world that are GoodMaps enabled. After choosing a building to explore, you can enter that building’s directory to review the full list of destinations in the building or search for specific points of interest. For example, you could explore a building you would like to visit in the future and find the destinations in the building you would like to visit.

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