GPS does not work inside an airport terminal. Concrete, steel and glass block the satellite signal, and even where a phone gets a fix, it is off by tens of metres and cannot tell level 0 from level 1. Every airport that wants to guide passengers to the gate, show staff where a passenger in need of assistance is waiting, or run AR navigation needs a separate indoor positioning system.
There are four common approaches: Bluetooth beacons, Wi-Fi, ultra-wideband (UWB) and camera-based visual positioning (VPS). This article compares them on what matters in a terminal: accuracy, hardware in the building, upkeep, time to go live, AR readiness and privacy.
The four approaches at a glance
| BLE beacons | Wi-Fi | UWB | Camera (VPS) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical accuracy | about 1–5 m | about 2–15 m (fingerprinting), 1–2 m with Wi-Fi RTT | about 10–50 cm | about 10–30 cm (aryve, live) |
| Hardware in the building | Hundreds of beacons in a large terminal | Existing access points, often more needed | Anchors in every zone, plus UWB tags or phones | None |
| Upkeep | Batteries, lost or moved beacons | Recalibration when the network changes | Anchors, power, calibration | Update the scan when the space changes |
| Works on any phone | Yes, with Bluetooth on | Limited on iOS | Only phones with UWB | Yes, any phone with a camera |
| Direction the user faces | No | No | Partly | Yes, from the image |
| AR navigation | Too coarse | Too coarse | Possible | Built for it |
| Time to go live | Weeks to months (install, survey) | Weeks (fingerprint survey) | Months (install, cabling) | 48 hours at Paderborn (scan to live) |
Ranges for beacons, Wi-Fi and UWB are typical published values and depend strongly on density and installation. The camera figures are aryve's results in live operation.
Bluetooth beacons
Beacons are small radio transmitters fixed to walls and ceilings. The phone measures signal strength from nearby beacons and estimates its position.
Strengths: cheap per unit, well understood, supported by almost every phone.
Weaknesses: a large terminal needs hundreds of them. Batteries run out, beacons get painted over, moved during works or stolen, and signal strength changes with crowds. Accuracy of a few metres is fine for "you are near Gate B" but not for turn-by-turn guidance or AR.
Wi-Fi positioning
Wi-Fi fingerprinting maps signal strengths across the terminal and matches the phone's readings to that map. Wi-Fi RTT (round-trip time) measures distance to access points more precisely.
Strengths: uses the network the airport already has.
Weaknesses: the fingerprint map drifts whenever access points are added, moved or retuned. iPhones give apps very limited access to Wi-Fi scans, which rules out a large share of passengers. Accuracy is usually a few metres to over ten.
Ultra-wideband (UWB)
UWB measures the time radio pulses take between anchors and a device.
Strengths: very accurate, good for tracking vehicles, equipment and staff tags.
Weaknesses: anchors need power and installation in every zone, which is a construction project in a live terminal. Only some phones support UWB, so it does not work for every passenger.
Camera-based visual positioning (VPS)
A visual positioning system compares a camera image with a 3D model, a digital twin, of the building. The terminal is scanned once. After that, the passenger takes one photo, and the system returns the position and the direction the passenger is facing.
Strengths: no hardware in the building, works on any phone with a camera, accurate enough for AR, and it knows which way the passenger is looking, so "turn left" means left. The same digital twin can guide passengers, staff apps, robots and autonomous vehicles.
Limits, honestly: it needs a good scan, and the scan has to be updated when the space changes, for example after a refit. The passenger has to point the camera, so it is a "take a photo, then follow" interaction, not a constant blue dot in the pocket. And camera use raises privacy questions that must be answered up front (see below).
How to decide for an airport
- Who maintains it in three years? Every installed device is a maintenance item. Count beacons, anchors and batteries, not just the purchase price.
- Do passengers need turn-by-turn guidance or just a zone? "Near security" works with metres. Guidance to a lift, a PRM meeting point or a boarding lane needs sub-metre accuracy and direction.
- How often does the terminal change? Frequent works favour systems that are quick to update and have nothing installed on walls that may move.
- Does it have to work on every phone? Passengers bring whatever phone they own. UWB and Wi-Fi limitations on iOS matter here.
- PRM and accessibility: step-free routes, spoken directions and staff who can find the passenger need accurate positions on both sides.
- Staff and machines: if robots, vehicles or staff tags are on the roadmap, check whether they can use the same map. UWB is strong for tags, VPS for anything with a camera.
- Privacy: ask where images are processed, what is stored and who can see positions.
In practice, airports often combine methods, for example UWB for vehicles on the apron and camera-based positioning for passengers inside the terminal.
In practice: Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport
aryve runs camera-based indoor navigation in live operation at Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport. The terminal was scanned and live within 48 hours. Passengers open a link in the browser, take one photo and are guided to the gate, without an app and without beacons. Positioning takes 1 to 3 seconds and is accurate to about 10 to 30 centimetres. People in the image are blurred on the device, and only coordinates are returned. The data protection review for camera-based positioning at Munich Airport has been completed successfully.
Read the Paderborn case study.
FAQ
Which indoor positioning system is best for large airports?
It depends on the job. For guiding passengers on their own phones, camera-based visual positioning gives the highest accuracy without installing hardware in the terminal. For tracking vehicles and equipment with tags, UWB is strong. Beacons and Wi-Fi are cheaper to start but usually accurate only to a few metres and need ongoing maintenance or recalibration.
What indoor positioning system works without beacons or Wi-Fi?
Camera-based visual positioning (VPS). It compares a photo from the phone with a digital twin of the building and returns the position and viewing direction. No beacons, Wi-Fi access points or other hardware are needed. aryve uses this approach in live operation at Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport.
How accurate is camera-based indoor positioning compared with beacons?
Beacon systems are typically accurate to about 1 to 5 metres. Camera-based positioning from aryve reaches about 10 to 30 centimetres from one photo, which is precise enough for AR navigation and turn-by-turn guidance.
Can indoor positioning support AR navigation for passengers?
Yes, if it is accurate to well under a metre and knows the direction the user faces. Camera-based positioning provides both from the image, so routes can be drawn into the camera view. Beacons and Wi-Fi are usually too coarse for AR.
How long does it take to deploy indoor positioning in a terminal?
Systems with installed hardware usually take weeks to months, including installation and site surveys. With camera-based positioning, aryve scanned Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport and went live within 48 hours.
Next steps
See how airports and airlines use camera-based navigation: use cases for airports and use cases for airlines. Or talk to us about a pilot in one zone of your terminal.