Barcodes are all around us--on books, groceries and other products--but these everyday markers are typically used for a single focused purpose. In this paper we explore the concept of "piggybacking" on ubiquitous markers to facilitate indoor navigation. Our initial probe--BookMark--allows library visitors to scan any nearby book to provide a custom map to the location of a desired item. In contrast to previous indoor navigation systems, our approach repurposes existing markers on physical items that are already in the navigation space, meaning that no additional infrastructure is required. We evaluated the BookMark probe in a large university library, showing its potential with real library users. In addition, we illustrate how the general technique shows further potential in other similar barcode-rich environments.
['Simon Robinson', 'Jennifer S. Pearson', 'Matt Jones']
A billion signposts: repurposing barcodes for indoor navigation