Sber and Sheremetyevo supplemented the airport's mobile application with AR navigation

2022: Adding augmented reality navigation to the app

Sheremetyevo International Airport has added augmented reality (AR) navigation, developed on the basis of visual positioning technology from Sber AR/VR Lab, to the updated version of its mobile application. This feature allows users to quickly navigate inside all passenger terminals of the airport. Sberbank announced this on August 18, 2022.

Using AR navigation, passengers of departing flights can build the shortest route from their location to the gate, and arriving flights to the airport parking lot or to aeroexpress trains. To do this, you need to find your flight on the online scoreboard of the application or scan the boarding pass, then select the "Build route" option.

This feature will also help users find the right shops, cafes and other airport infrastructure. To do this, go to the "Airport Diagram" section, select the "Build Route" option, find the desired object from the proposed list - and the application will build a route to it.

{{quote 'Navigation inside large premises, such as airports, train stations, trade centers, is a very difficult task for mobile applications with maps that are used, satellite navigation system GPS due to the fact that the signal from the satellite often does not pass inside the room. The team Sber AR/VR Lab developed Visual Positioning System (VPS) technology that solves this problem. VPS with high accuracy determines the position phone in space and superimposes a layer of augmented reality with indoor navigation, "said Alexey Poddubny Sberbank Vice President for Technological Development. }}

Sheremetyevo Airport is aimed at the systematic introduction of innovative technologies in order to improve the quality of service standards and expand the range of services for passengers, airlines and all categories of customers. The launch of the route construction function using augmented reality simplifies the "passenger's path" to the object of interest: the boarding gate, restaurant or taxi boarding area, bus or aeroexpress. Thanks to our joint work with Sber AR/VR Lab, it has become easier for passengers and guests to navigate at the airport, "added Dmitry Ilyin, Deputy General Director for Information Technology at Sheremetyevo International Airport.

VPS technology uses a digital cast of the location, which is created specifically for each project. When a user points a phone camera at a location or object, a special neural network on his device scans special points from the camera's video stream. These points are mapped to a digital cast of the location - this is how the user's position is determined, and AR graphics appear on the application screen. VPS technology is also available to developers.

To use the AR-navigator at Sheremetyevo, you will need a mobile device with support for ARKit and ARCore systems. Most modern smartphones are suitable for this criterion.

The official mobile application of Sheremetyevo International Airport is available in the App Store, Google Play and RuStore. In the application, Sheremetyevo passengers and guests can find the necessary information about flights and the airport as a whole, as well as receive notifications about changing the status of flights online, find out information about services at the airport, see the airport diagram, determine their location and find objects of interest on the map.