Jonathan Hodel, P.E., GISP,
Principal
We love to introduce GIS users to the concept of "floor awareness" for converting digital floor plans to GIS within the ArcGIS platform. In this blog post, we'll delve into the key takeaways from my webinar presentation and provide a detailed understanding of what it means to be floor-aware in the context of ArcGIS Indoors. We'll also explore how to create floor-aware maps using ArcGIS Pro.
What is Floor Awareness?
Let’s begin by defining floor awareness as the ability to navigate and interact with indoor GIS data representing floor plan features within a map or scene. This involves organizing data hierarchically, associating features with levels, facilities, and sites, and enabling interaction with floor-level tagging features.
What are the Minimum Requirements to produce Floor-Aware Maps?
To create a floor-aware map or scene, the minimum requirements are highlighted below:
Polygon layers representing facilities and levels
A hierarchical relationship between units, levels, facilities, and sites.
A configurable layer filtering solution such as ArcGIS Indoors (allows to sort through stacked layers)
Important attribute fields such as level ID, facility ID, and site ID
Creating Floor-Aware Maps with ArcGIS Pro
The following steps are needed to create floor-aware maps with ArcGIS Pro using the Indoors solution.
Configuring floor-aware layers
1. Licensing: Configure ArcGIS Indoors license and Create Indoors database (Learn more here)
2. Configure Floor-Aware Layers: enable the "Floors" fields in the layer properties for the respective layers in ArcGIS Pro. A map or scene becomes floor aware when these layers are specified on the Floors layers tab of the Map Properties dialog box. This flexibility allows you to make non-standard layers floor aware as well.
Adding Range Definitions
3. Add Range Definitions: Use range definitions in ArcGIS Pro to visualize rooms, details, and other features while keeping them organized.
4. Update Associated Attributes: Populate attributes like facility ID and level ID for features to establish the hierarchical relationship.
5. Publish Layers Using ArcGIS Indoors: Publish the layers to your ArcGIS Enterprise or ArcGIS Online account.*
*Ensure that your portal is properly licensed for use with the ArcGIS Indoors extension.
Exploring Floor Awareness in Action:
Head to my presentation to find real-world examples of floor-aware maps using ArcGIS Indoors. These maps allow users to toggle between different floors within a single building or multiple buildings across a campus, making it easy to visualize and interact with indoor data.
Conclusion
In this post, we've covered the concept of floor awareness in ArcGIS Indoors and learned how to create floor-aware maps using ArcGIS Pro. Understanding the hierarchy of levels, facilities, and sites, as well as populating key attributes, is crucial for creating effective floor-aware maps. Whether you're managing a multi-story building, a campus, or a complex indoor environment, floor awareness can greatly enhance your GIS capabilities, providing a seamless experience for users navigating indoor spaces.
Cloudpoint Geospatial’s campus facilities team is ready to help your organization take the next step in becoming floor-aware with your GIS data. Contact us today at cloudpointgeo.com/contact or by calling (877) 377-8124.
