MetaMaps Live turns spoken requests into indoor routes
Boldright has added Live voice conversations to MetaMaps venue maps. Visitors can describe what they want, receive suggestions based on facility information and ask for a route to the chosen destination. The service asks for a starting point before displaying directions. Camera-based automatic location, digital-signage conversations and analysis of conversation trends remain planned additions.
Artificial Intelligence··Night
Finding a destination by voice
Boldright, the Japanese developer of the MetaMaps facility-navigation platform, added a voice-conversation feature called Live on October 26. Its announcement and AI Watch’s report describe a browser map where visitors can say what they are looking for. A request can concern a gift, a place suitable for children or a quiet cafe, rather than requiring the visitor to know a particular shop name. Recommendations draw on information the facility has registered about shops, experiences and events. That allows the conversation to include an experience-based tenant or an event taking place that day when it matches the visitor’s request. According to Boldright, the recommended destination is selected on the map. Live connects spoken requests with the map’s existing information and route functions, without requiring installation of a separate application.[1], [2]
From a starting point to the route
Once a destination is chosen, the visitor can ask for directions. The AI asks for the starting point before displaying a route on the map. Boldright describes asking which nearby shops the visitor can see and using the answer to establish that point. The current workflow therefore includes a question to the visitor about their position before the system proceeds with route guidance.[1], [2]
Boldright says routes can include floor-by-floor instructions, and an accessible-route request can avoid stairs and escalators. The displayed route remains after the voice conversation ends, with floor-specific steps available on the map. Spoken commands can also switch floors, enlarge or rotate the map and change the visible area. These controls use the existing map while the visitor continues the conversation.[1]
Facility settings and planned additions
Facility administrators can enable Live through the platform’s AI settings, adding its button to an already published map. They can choose the opening greeting, symbol and voice model for each facility. Boldright says answers are restricted to the facility’s registered information and additional supplied knowledge. When those materials do not establish an answer, the stated response is to acknowledge that the information cannot be confirmed.[1], [2]
AI Watch reports that automatic starting-point detection through MetaMaps VISION, a system using camera footage, is planned. Interactive guidance on digital signage and analysis of conversation trends for facility operators are also planned additions. They appear in the company’s future development plans; the released Live workflow described in the reports asks visitors where they are before drawing the route.[1], [2]
