What is a wayfinding system?

A wayfinding system is software (plus the kiosks, mobile companions, and signage that present it) that helps a visitor navigate a physical space — a hospital, airport, university campus, government building, shopping center, museum, or corporate office. A modern enterprise wayfinding system like GLARUS WFS combines three coordinated surfaces: touch-first kiosks at fixed locations, a mobile companion that opens via QR scan, and an admin portal where staff curate the maps, POIs, walls, and routes. The system computes wall-aware routes in milliseconds, handles multi-floor transitions, supports RTL languages, and reports anonymous analytics without ever touching personal data.

How does GLARUS WFS work?

Five steps. (1) A visitor walks up to a touch kiosk and taps the screen — search, browse categories, or pick from the on-screen keyboard in any configured locale. (2) The wall-aware routing engine resolves a clear route in milliseconds, guiding the visitor around walls and closures. (3) The route renders on the floor plan with multi-floor picture-in-picture; elevator / stairs / escalator transitions are explicit steps. (4) Optionally the visitor scans a QR code to continue navigation on their phone with a time-limited secure session — no re-entry. (5) Telemetry (kiosk + place only, never personal data) flows to the admin analytics dashboard — top searches, per-floor heatmaps, daily trend.

How does the multi-floor picture-in-picture (PiP) work?

When a route crosses floors (e.g. start on Ground Floor → take elevator to Floor 3 → walk to Pediatrics), the kiosk shows the current floor as the main view and the upcoming floor in a smaller picture-in-picture corner. Tap the PiP to swap the two views. This lets the visitor preview the next floor before they get there — particularly useful in complex hospitals, airports, and convention centers where unfamiliar layouts cause anxiety. The PiP is fully RTL-aware and accessible.

How does the QR handoff to mobile work?

Tap "Continue on phone" and the kiosk renders a QR code carrying the route context — your starting point and your destination, with no personal data encoded. The visitor scans it with their phone camera; the mobile companion opens, validates the time-limited session, and renders a clean step-by-step navigation card (you are here → optional elevator → destination). The visitor walks away from the kiosk and continues with the same route on their phone, no re-entry needed.

How is the route actually calculated?

GLARUS WFS uses a wall-aware shortest-path routing engine. Within a floor it resolves the shortest route between the visitor's position and their destination, validated against the building's wall geometry so the route always guides visitors around walls and corridor closures. Across floors, multi-floor route resolution works out which elevator, staircase or escalator to take and orders the journey into clear "walk → transition → walk" steps with an estimated walk time. The whole calculation runs in milliseconds, so the kiosk feels instant.

What languages are supported?

Multilingual ship as a production baseline, with full right-to-left support for Arabic. The on-screen keyboard switches per-language layouts automatically, and audio and haptic touch feedback are consistent across every language. Adding any other locale (French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Turkish, Urdu, Hindi and more) is a contained change made per engagement — a translation bundle plus the matching keyboard layout. RTL layout is applied automatically for right-to-left scripts.

How are kiosks deployed and locked?

Each physical kiosk has a unique QR code on its body. When the kiosk boots, the kiosk runtime resolves itself automatically — by QR code, by kiosk ID, or by an active-kiosk-by-building fallback. Once paired, kiosk locking ensures only one client ever owns a given physical screen; if a kiosk crashes, the lock releases automatically and another instance can take over. The map editor applies the same protection per floor, so two admins never edit the same floor at the same time.

How are walls and routes managed?

In the admin map editor — a full WYSIWYG canvas with snap-to-grid drawing. Admins draw walls as polygons, place POIs by clicking on the floor plan, place kiosks similarly, and draft multi-floor paths that get saved as named templates for reuse. Every action lands in an undo / redo stack with per-layer visibility toggles, and the editor autosaves continuously so a browser crash never loses work.

What hardware does the kiosk run on?

Any device with a modern web browser — Android media players, Linux mini-PCs, Windows kiosks, ChromeOS kiosks, or Zeour's own AUTO-series free-standing kiosks (32" Full HD capacitive touch, IP54-rated for 24/7 operation). The kiosk app is built to perform well on standard touchscreen hardware, with haptic and audio touch feedback for a hardware-grade feel. Idle timeouts auto-reset the screen so it always greets the next visitor cleanly.

How does emergency-mode wayfinding work?

Each route can be flagged for emergency use and for availability. In emergency mode the routing engine uses only routes flagged for emergency use — typically stairs and designated emergency exits, never elevators. This lets you run a normal mode that prefers elevators for accessibility and an emergency mode that automatically reroutes everyone to stairs and designated exits during a fire drill or real incident. Combined with the digital-signage emergency broadcast module, you can switch every kiosk in the building into emergency mode in seconds.

What analytics does the admin portal show?

The analytics dashboard shows total searches, total navigation sessions, the count of active kiosks, per-floor navigation heatmaps (which routes get used most), the most-searched POIs, top categories, and a daily trend chart. Search and navigation events flow in over non-blocking telemetry, so the kiosk UI never waits on an analytics write. All data is non-personal: kiosk, building, floor, POI, timestamp.

How does the map editor handle floor plans?

Admins upload a floor plan image — any standard raster format — for each floor in the map editor. Walls, POIs, kiosks, and path templates are layered on top with snap-to-grid drawing, and floors are ordered to match the building. Updating a floor plan is a quick edit in the editor; the next visitor to the next kiosk sees the new layout instantly.

How do safe delete and undo work?

POIs and kiosks both use a safe delete with a quick undo window. When you delete a POI in the admin panel, it is removed from the visible list and a toast offers "Undo" for a short window; if you don't undo, the deletion is finalised. This prevents accidental destructive actions while keeping the data clean. Walls and routes are treated as structural and require explicit confirmation rather than safe delete.

How does GLARUS WFS integrate with the rest of the platform?

Wayfinding plugs directly into the other GLARUS modules. Self-service kiosks (CSA) can embed the wayfinding view as a tile; digital signage (GRAVIA) can render the floor map plus today's POI changes on lobby TVs; queue management (EMS) can show a directional arrow from the kiosk to the called counter; visitor management can pre-load a guest's destination so the WFS kiosk routes them straight there from the lobby. One central CMS, one consistent visitor experience across every touchpoint.

How long does deployment take?

A single-building pilot (one floor plan, ~50 POIs, one kiosk, one language) typically goes live in 2 to 3 weeks: 1 week of discovery (map digitization, POI cataloging, kiosk placement strategy, emergency policy), 1 week of admin map editing (POI / kiosk / wall placement, path drafting), 1 week of UAT + reception staff training. Multi-building / multi-language deployments add ~1 week per wave. Custom hardware kiosks (AUTO-series, KIOSAPP066) typically lead-time 4 to 6 weeks.

Cloud or on-premise — which do customers pick?

Both. Most commercial deployments (shopping centers, hotels, retail) go with the managed cloud edition for speed of pilot. Regulated environments — hospitals, government buildings, embassies, defence sites — go on-premise so every byte of map data stays inside their perimeter. The application is identical in both modes; the difference is operational: cloud customers get managed updates and a 99.9% uptime SLA; on-prem customers get full data sovereignty inside their own infrastructure.

How do we get started?

Request a tailored quote on our contact page — or open the ROI calculator on the pricing page to project your annual benefit before talking to sales. We typically start with a discovery call (your buildings, floors, POI categories, language needs, kiosk placement, emergency policy), follow with a fixed-scope pilot at one building, and scale from there. Reseller and white-label arrangements are available through the Zeour partner network in 6+ countries.

GLARUS Solution

Wayfinding System

Touch kiosks with QR mobile handoff, multi-floor pathfinding, secure 30-min sessions and admin map editor. Deployed in hospitals & airports.

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One platform · 12 solutions · 6+ countries direct + via partners

GLARUS Core

Overview

Comprehensive Wayfinding

Zeour GLARUS WFS — the enterprise indoor-navigation suite deployed in hospitals, airports, shopping centres, universities, government buildings, and corporate campuses. Touch-first wayfinding kiosks with on-screen keyboards in Multilingual (full RTL) as a production baseline; any other locale is added per engagement. QR handoff lets visitors continue navigation on their phone with a time-limited secure session. Smart multi-floor routing with picture-in-picture floor switching, a wall-aware shortest-path routing engine that guides visitors around walls and closures, multi-floor route resolution across elevators / stairs / escalators, and an admin map editor for placing POIs, kiosks and walls, drafting multi-floor paths, and snap-to-grid drawing. GDPR-aligned — telemetry never carries personal data.

Cut "where is …?" reception interruptions by 60–80% across the estate

Eliminate visitor frustration with sub-second route resolution and live floor switching

Reduce wayfinding signage cost by 70% (no more reprinted floor plans every renovation)

Meet GDPR / HIPAA / PDPL compliance with zero-PII telemetry by design

GLARUS WFS visitor journey overview — search, see the route, hand off to phone, idle reset, audit — Visitor journey: search → route → handoff → idle reset → audit.

Deep Dive

Understanding Wayfinding — Built on the GLARUS WFS Platform

Zeour GLARUS WFS powers three coordinated surfaces — a touch-first wayfinding kiosk, a QR-handoff mobile companion, and a full admin portal — over a single shared data model. The kiosk does the heavy lifting: a wall-aware shortest-path routing engine that guides visitors around walls and closures, multi-floor picture-in-picture switching, on-screen keyboards in any configured locale, idle timeouts that always reset the screen, and haptic and audio touch feedback for that hardware-grade feel. The admin portal is the operator brain: a map editor with snap-to-grid POI / kiosk / wall placement, multi-floor path drafting with named templates, undo / redo with autosave, and a zero-PII analytics dashboard that surfaces searches, sessions, and per-floor heatmaps. Telemetry never carries personal data — only kiosk, place and timestamp.

Key Functionalities

Deep dive diagram of GLARUS wayfinding modules — kiosk runtime, mobile companion, admin portal, routing engine

Touch-First Kiosk Runtime

Full-screen wayfinding terminal. Search, browse categories, view route, switch floors, hand off to mobile. Optimized for standard touchscreen hardware with non-blocking telemetry and haptic and audio touch feedback.

QR Handoff Mobile Companion

A QR code carrying only the route context — your starting point and destination, no personal data — opens the mobile companion on the visitor's phone with a time-limited secure session. The visitor can switch language without losing the route.

Multi-Floor Picture-in-Picture

When a route crosses floors, the upcoming floor is shown in a corner PiP that the visitor can swap with the main view. Critical for hospitals, airports, and convention centers.

Wall-Aware Routing Engine

Routes resolve in milliseconds. The routing engine resolves the shortest in-floor route, validated against the building's wall geometry, so visitors are always guided around walls and corridor closures.

Multi-Floor Route Resolution

Multi-floor transitions (elevators / stairs / escalators) are resolved automatically and ordered into clear "walk → transition → walk" steps with an estimated walk time.

On-Screen Keyboards (multilingual)

Per-language keyboard layouts with automatic RTL; any other locale drops in per engagement. Audio and haptic touch feedback give every keypress a hardware-grade feel.

Admin Map Editor

WYSIWYG canvas for placing POIs (10 types), placing kiosks, drawing wall polygons, drafting multi-floor paths, and saving named path templates. Snap-to-grid drawing, keyboard shortcuts, and continuous autosave.

Building → Floor → POI Hierarchy

A clear physical org model — buildings contain floors, floors contain POIs and kiosks. POIs and kiosks use safe delete with a quick undo window. Each floor carries its own uploaded floor-plan image.

Route Graph with Emergency Mode

Routes are typed (elevator / stairs / escalator) and can be flagged for availability and for emergency use. Emergency mode filters out elevators and prioritizes stairs and designated exits.

Idle Timeouts + Conflict-Safe Editing

Idle timeouts always reset the kiosk to greet the next visitor cleanly. Kiosk locking and per-floor editor locking prevent conflicting edits across clients and admins.

Zero-PII Telemetry & Analytics

Search and navigation events flow over non-blocking, rate-limited telemetry that never slows the kiosk UI. The dashboard shows total searches, sessions, active kiosks, per-floor heatmaps, most-searched POIs, and a daily trend.

Multilingual UI with Full RTL

Multilingual (RTL) ship as a production baseline; any other locale is added per engagement. RTL layout is applied automatically for right-to-left scripts.

Software Components

Visitor-Facing Applications

Wayfinding Kiosk

Touch-first, full-screen kiosk runtime optimized for mounted touchscreen hardware. Search, categories, map, route, and QR handoff — built for tight render cycles and a responsive feel on standard kiosk hardware.

Mobile Companion

Lightweight page that opens from the kiosk's QR code with a time-limited secure session, renders a step-by-step navigation card with an estimated walk time, and lets the visitor switch language without losing context.

Kiosk Landing Experience

Animated entry screen with a language picker and a single CTA into kiosk mode. The kiosk auto-resolves itself by QR code, kiosk ID, or active-kiosk-by-building fallback.

Admin Portal

Admin Dashboard

Tabbed management for buildings, floors, POIs, kiosks, and routes. POIs and kiosks use a safe delete with a quick undo window. Bulk operations supported.

Map Editor

Full WYSIWYG canvas. POI and kiosk placement, wall polygon drawing, multi-floor path drafting, and named path templates. Snap-to-grid drawing, keyboard shortcuts, undo / redo, and continuous autosave.

Analytics

Dashboard with per-floor navigation heatmaps, most-searched POIs, top categories, kiosk activity, a daily trend, and total searches and sessions counters.

Users + Design Settings

Admin user management — create, edit, deactivate accounts and force a password reset. A live design-token editor lets you match the kiosk and portal to your brand.

Routing & Pathfinding Engine

Wall-Aware Shortest-Path Routing

Resolves the shortest in-floor route between the visitor's position and their destination, validated against the building's wall geometry so visitors are always guided around walls and closures. Millisecond resolution on typical building sizes.

Wall & Closure Awareness

Routes are checked against the building's wall geometry before they are drawn; corridor closures are modelled as walls so the engine routes visitors around them automatically.

Multi-Floor Route Resolution

Resolves which elevator, staircase or escalator to take and orders the journey into clear walk and transition steps with an estimated walk time. Honors per-route availability and emergency flags.

Named Path Templates

Reusable multi-floor path geometry. Admins draft a path once in the editor and reuse it across many POIs in the same building.

API & Integration

REST API

Read endpoints serve kiosks the buildings, floors, POIs, walls, routes, and navigation they need; mutating endpoints are gated behind an authenticated admin session. Telemetry endpoints are rate-limited.

Session-Based Admin Auth

Session-based admin authentication with hashed passwords. A default session lifetime with an optional extended "remember me" window, plus brute-force lockout on repeated failed logins.

Security & Compliance

Zero-PII Telemetry

Kiosk, place and timestamp only. No cookies on the visitor side and no fingerprinting. GDPR-aligned by design.

Audit Logging

Structured audit logging for all admin changes to users, floors, walls, POIs, routes, kiosks, path templates, buildings, and design settings. Stream it to your log platform for compliance retention.

Rate Limiting + Lockout

Telemetry and other endpoints are rate-limited; mutating actions require an authenticated admin session; repeated failed logins trigger a brute-force lockout.

Validated Configuration Writes

Design-setting changes are authenticated and validated for size and shape before they are applied, so configuration writes stay safe.

Hardware Components

Kiosks (Touch-First Terminals)

AUTO Free-Standing Kiosk (AUTO666-HW-L-AD)

up to 86" Full HD capacitive touchscreen, Android / Windows, weatherproof IP54-rated for 24/7 operation. Ideal for outdoor and high-traffic indoor lobbies (hospitals, malls, airports).

GLARUS Wayfinding Kiosk (KIOSAPP066)

18.5" or 21" capacitive touchscreen, Android / Windows, LAN + WiFi, thermal printer option, aluminum bezel. Compact form factor for corridor and reception placement.

GRAVIA Wayfinding Kiosk (KIOSGRV301 / KIOSGRV303)

Design-forward GRAVIA-branded kiosk variants for wayfinding-first deployments — HW-S, HW-SS, and HW-LL form-factor options to fit different lobby and corridor footprints. Touch-first interaction; cabinet finish, screen size, and OS configured per deployment.

Wall-Mounted & Information Displays

GRAVIA Signage Controller (GRAVIA06)

Quad-core Cortex-A55 Android signage controller. Drives wall-mounted wayfinding signage and information displays. PoE-powered, HDMI + VGA output up to 4K.

IPTV06VI (IP Video Encoder)

For deployments that distribute live wayfinding video across many displays from a central source. RJ45 Gigabit, H.265/HEVC, RTSP/HTTP/UDP/RTMP/HLS/RTP/SRT.

Lobby Infrastructure

CONT06 Industrial Branch Server

For on-premise deployments. Ubuntu Linux local server. Runs the full GLARUS WFS stack at a single site without internet dependency.

Glarus_Hub (PoE Power Distribution)

Industrial 16-channel PoE hub for powering kiosks, signage, and lobby displays from a single rack point. Resilient to flaky mains power.

Wayfinding Architecture — GLARUS WFS Platform

GLARUS WFS powers three coordinated surfaces — kiosk, mobile companion, admin portal — over one shared data model. The kiosk does the geometry-heavy work (wall-aware routing, wall and closure awareness, multi-floor PiP); the central plane handles multi-floor route resolution, admin authentication, and data management; the mobile companion is a stateless render of a time-limited route handoff. Cloud SaaS or on-premise — same platform, same operator experience, sovereign data.

GLARUS WFS three-tier architecture image — visitor channels, central plane, admin tools

01Architecture Tier

Tier 1 — Visitor-Facing Channels

Where visitors actually find their way

Touch-first kiosk runtime running full-screen on mounted hardware
Mobile companion for QR-handoff continuity with a time-limited secure session
Kiosk landing experience with a language picker and direct kiosk launch
Per-language on-screen keyboards with audio and haptic feedback
Idle timeouts that always reset the screen to greet the next visitor cleanly

02Architecture Tier

Tier 2 — Central Plane

The brain — admin portal, API, navigation, telemetry

Standalone application server deployable behind the reverse proxy of your choice
A REST API — read endpoints for kiosks, admin-gated write endpoints
Multi-floor route resolution for elevator / stairs / escalator transitions
Rate-limited telemetry endpoints that never slow the kiosk UI
Session-based admin authentication with hashed passwords
Structured audit logging streamable to your log platform for compliance
A single shared data model — Building → Floor → POI hierarchy, route graph, walls, path templates

03Architecture Tier

Tier 3 — Admin Tools & Editor

The operator brain — keep maps current as the building evolves

Admin dashboard with tabbed management for buildings, floors, POIs, kiosks, and routes
Safe delete with a quick undo window for POIs and kiosks
Map editor — POI / kiosk / wall placement, path drafting, named templates
Snap-to-grid drawing, keyboard shortcuts, undo / redo, continuous autosave
Analytics dashboard with per-floor heatmaps, top POIs, daily trend
Admin user management — create, edit, deactivate accounts and force a password reset
Live design-token editor to match the kiosk and portal to your brand

Tier 1 — Visitor-Facing Channels

Where visitors actually find their way

Touch-first kiosk runtime running full-screen on mounted hardware
Mobile companion for QR-handoff continuity with a time-limited secure session
Kiosk landing experience with a language picker and direct kiosk launch
Per-language on-screen keyboards with audio and haptic feedback
Idle timeouts that always reset the screen to greet the next visitor cleanly

Tier 2 — Central Plane

The brain — admin portal, API, navigation, telemetry

Standalone application server deployable behind the reverse proxy of your choice
A REST API — read endpoints for kiosks, admin-gated write endpoints
Multi-floor route resolution for elevator / stairs / escalator transitions
Rate-limited telemetry endpoints that never slow the kiosk UI
Session-based admin authentication with hashed passwords
Structured audit logging streamable to your log platform for compliance
A single shared data model — Building → Floor → POI hierarchy, route graph, walls, path templates

Tier 3 — Admin Tools & Editor

The operator brain — keep maps current as the building evolves

Admin dashboard with tabbed management for buildings, floors, POIs, kiosks, and routes
Safe delete with a quick undo window for POIs and kiosks
Map editor — POI / kiosk / wall placement, path drafting, named templates
Snap-to-grid drawing, keyboard shortcuts, undo / redo, continuous autosave
Analytics dashboard with per-floor heatmaps, top POIs, daily trend
Admin user management — create, edit, deactivate accounts and force a password reset
Live design-token editor to match the kiosk and portal to your brand

Resilience & Real-Time Behavior

Real-time

Kiosk locking prevents two clients ever owning the same physical kiosk
Per-floor editor locking prevents conflicting concurrent edits
The wall-aware routing engine resolves a typical building in milliseconds — the kiosk feels instant even on standard hardware
Non-blocking telemetry never slows the kiosk UI
Standalone build deployable behind any reverse proxy; on-prem or managed cloud
Rate-limited telemetry endpoints keep the platform stable under load

Wayfinding CMS vs Paper Directories vs Static Signs vs Consumer Map Apps — What You Need

Most "wayfinding" installations in the world are still paper. The next-most-common solution is fixed signage. Both fail the moment the building changes — and they generate zero data on what visitors actually need. An enterprise wayfinding CMS like GLARUS WFS is the only category that scales across a real estate and produces audit-ready analytics.

Comparison of GLARUS WFS vs paper directory vs static signage vs consumer indoor map app — How an enterprise wayfinding CMS compares to paper, static signs, and consumer apps.

GLARUS WFS (Enterprise Wayfinding CMS)

Best for: Real organizations with complex buildings, multiple languages, security obligations, and a need for data on visitor flow.

Comparison

Touch-first kiosk + QR handoff to mobile companion + admin portal — all in one platform
Wall-aware shortest-path routing that guides visitors around walls and closures + multi-floor route resolution
Multi-floor picture-in-picture; elevator / stairs / escalator handling; emergency-mode routing
Admin map editor with POI / kiosk / wall placement, path templates, undo / redo, autosave
Multilingual with full RTL, extensible to any locale per engagement; per-language on-screen keyboards
Per-floor analytics with heatmaps, top POIs, daily trend — zero PII by design
GDPR / HIPAA / PDPL / ISO 27001 aligned; cloud or on-premise

enterprise wayfindingindoor navigation CMSGLARUS WFSGLARUS wayfinding

Paper Building Directory

Best for: Nothing in 2026. It is what you are replacing.

Comparison

A printed list of room numbers + names laminated next to the elevator
Updates require a print run (typically weekly to monthly)
Always out of date the moment any tenant or department moves
Single language; no audio; no haptic; no analytics
No emergency rerouting; no closure handling; no QR handoff

paper building directoryreplace paper directorypaper signage replacement

Static Wayfinding Signs

Best for: Buildings that never change. (None.)

Comparison

Physical signs at corridor intersections with arrows and room numbers
Re-painting / re-printing required for every layout change
Multilingual at best; usually monolingual
No closure-aware routing — visitors hit barriers and ask staff
No emergency-mode rerouting; no telemetry

static wayfinding signsphysical wayfinding signagewayfinding signage cost

Consumer Indoor Map App

Best for: Pre-mapped public venues with strong consumer adoption (large airports, malls).

Comparison

Smartphone app from a third party (Google Indoor Maps, Apple Maps Connect, others)
Requires visitor to download / sign in / accept terms
No control over your data, your branding, or your routing logic
Requires building owner to publish floor plans to a third-party catalog
No physical kiosks; no emergency mode; no admin portal

Google Indoor MapsApple Indoor Mapsconsumer wayfinding app

Wayfinding System — Deployment Checklist

A practical 5-phase rollout playbook for going live with GLARUS WFS — from a single-building pilot to a multi-campus estate. Use it as a project plan with your Zeour partner.

1) Discovery & Map Digitization

Checklist

Inventory buildings, floors, POI categories, kiosk placement strategy, emergency policy

Digitize floor plans (CAD / PDF / image) for upload to the map editor

List POI types you need beyond the standard 10 (e.g. dialysis room, fasting room)

Decide languages (Multilingual ship as a baseline; add other locales per engagement)

Decide deployment model: managed cloud or on-premise (and choose data residency for cloud)

2) Central Setup & Admin Bootstrap

Checklist

Provision the central plane and validate the deployment environment

Create the first admin account with a forced password reset on first sign-in

Configure design tokens in the design settings editor to match your brand

Upload a floor plan image per floor and order the floors to match the building

Set up language bundles (Multilingual pre-built; add other locales per engagement)

3) Map Editor — Place POIs, Walls, Kiosks

Checklist

Open the map editor; place POIs (category + type + name) by clicking on the floor plan

Draw walls as polygons — these power the wall-aware routing engine

Place kiosks at their physical locations; assign each a unique QR code (printed on the kiosk body)

Draft multi-floor paths through stairs / elevators / escalators and save as named templates

Configure routes between floors, typed by transition and flagged for availability and emergency use

4) Kiosk Pairing & Launch

Checklist

Physically install kiosks (AUTO666, KIOSAPP066, or your existing touchscreen hardware)

Print and affix unique QR codes per kiosk; point each kiosk's browser at the kiosk runtime

Verify each kiosk resolves itself via QR / ID / active-kiosk fallback and holds its lock

Train reception staff on the admin portal and on how to send visitors to a kiosk

Pilot for 2 weeks at one building; measure search-to-route time, QR-handoff adoption, top POIs

5) Optimize, Measure & Scale

Checklist

Track weekly: total searches / sessions / active kiosks, top POIs, per-floor heatmaps, QR-handoff usage

Use analytics to refine POI naming (rename POIs that get searched but never selected)

Tune kiosk placement based on heatmaps — add kiosks where heatmaps go dark

Roll out to additional buildings using the same admin patterns + path templates

Plan custom integrations (queue management, visitor management, digital signage) via the API

Wayfinding System Gallery

Visual highlights of GLARUS WFS — the wayfinding platform deployed in hospitals, airports, malls, universities, and governments worldwide.

GLARUS WFS touch-first kiosk UI showing search, categories, on-screen keyboard, and floor map preview — Touch-first kiosk UI — search, categories, on-screen keyboard with audio + haptic feedback.

GLARUS WFS multi-floor picture-in-picture rendering — current floor full-screen with next floor in corner PiP — Multi-floor picture-in-picture — current floor + next floor with one-tap swap.

GLARUS WFS QR-handoff to mobile companion with a time-limited secure session and step-by-step navigation card — QR handoff: continue navigation on your phone with a time-limited secure session.

GLARUS WFS admin map editor with POI / kiosk / wall placement, multi-floor path drafting, and undo / redo — Admin map editor — POI / kiosk / wall placement, path drafting, snap-to-grid drawing.

GLARUS WFS three-tier architecture diagram with visitor channels, central plane, and admin tools — Three-tier architecture: visitor channels, central plane, admin tools.

Problem vs Solution

Why Static Signage Fails

Static signage cannot adapt, cannot guide turn-by-turn, and cannot tell you what visitors look for — here is why digital wayfinding is essential.

Why paper directories and static signs fail versus an enterprise wayfinding CMS — Why paper directories, static signs, and consumer map apps fall short at scale.

The Problem01

Paper Directories Are Wrong by Tuesday

You print a building directory on Monday. By Tuesday afternoon, three rooms have been re-assigned, a new clinic has opened on Floor 4, and the cafe has moved. The directory is wrong. Visitors don't know that — they trust it, walk to the wrong place, and end up asking reception anyway.

The Zeour Approach

Maps Update in the Browser, Not the Printer

Admins edit the map in the GLARUS WFS map editor; kiosks pull the latest POI / wall / route data on every visit. A room re-assignment is a 30-second edit. The next visitor to the next kiosk sees the new layout instantly.

The Problem02

Static Signs Can't Reroute Around Closures

A corridor is closed for cleaning. The signs still point through it. The visitor follows the sign, hits a barrier, doesn't know which way to go, and asks the nearest staff member. Multiply that across a hospital with 800 visitors a day — and the maintenance team blames the lobby team.

The Zeour Approach

Wall-Aware Routing Avoids Closures

A corridor closure is modelled the same way as a wall. The routing engine treats it as impassable and routes the visitor around it. No "barrier surprise" at the end of a wrong direction.

The Problem03

Reception Becomes the Direction-Giving Desk

In a typical 50,000-visitor-per-year facility, reception spends 30–40% of its time answering "where is …?" That's a person whose job description is "guest concierge" turned into a navigation service desk because the signage isn't doing its job.

The Zeour Approach

Reception Goes Back to Concierge Work

A wayfinding kiosk handles "where is X?" in 2 seconds. Reception spends its time on appointments, VIP guests, and incidents — not directions. Per-floor heatmaps show which questions the kiosks answer best, so the front desk can be staffed for the rest.

The Problem04

No Visibility Into What Visitors Actually Look For

You bought beautiful signage three years ago. Is anyone using it? Which rooms get asked about most? Where are visitors getting lost? Without telemetry there's no way to know — and every signage upgrade is a guess.

The Zeour Approach

Per-Floor Analytics + Most-Searched POIs

The analytics dashboard shows top-searched POIs, per-floor navigation heatmaps, and a daily trend — all without any visitor PII. You can finally answer "where are visitors getting lost?" with data.

The Problem05

Single Language, Single Audience

Your facility serves visitors in three languages but the signage only speaks one. International patients, foreign delegations, and tourists end up at reception every time. Multi-lingual physical signage is expensive to update, slow to change, and often doesn't handle RTL languages correctly.

The Zeour Approach

Multilingual UI with Full RTL

Multilingual ship as a production baseline with proper RTL layout, locale-specific keyboard layouts, and translated voice / haptic feedback. Any other locale is a 3-file change. International visitors stop ending up at reception.

The Problem06

No Emergency Routing — Visitors Use Elevators in Fires

When the fire alarm rings, visitors instinctively head for the elevator they used to come in. Static signs say "in case of emergency use stairs" but they don't show which stairs or which route. People hesitate, mill around, panic, and slow the evacuation.

The Zeour Approach

Emergency Mode Reroutes Every Kiosk

Each route can be flagged for emergency use and for availability. When emergency mode is activated — via the digital-signage emergency broadcast module or the kiosk's own emergency switch — the routing engine drops elevators and prioritizes stairs and designated exits. Every kiosk in the building reroutes in seconds.

Features

Wayfinding Features

Discover the powerful features that make our wayfinding the preferred choice for enterprises worldwide.

Key features of GLARUS WFS — kiosk UI, QR handoff, multi-floor PiP, map editor, RTL languages, zero-PII analytics — Feature highlights that move you from paper directories to enterprise wayfinding.

Touch-First Kiosk UI (full-screen, optimized for standard touchscreen hardware)

QR Handoff to a Mobile Companion with a Time-Limited Secure Session

Multi-Floor Pathfinding with Picture-in-Picture Floor Switching

Wall-Aware Shortest-Path Routing That Guides Visitors Around Walls and Closures

Multi-Floor Route Resolution Across Elevators / Stairs / Escalators

Building → Floor → POI Hierarchy with Safe Delete & Quick Undo

POI Categories & 10+ Types (rooms, services, amenities, exits, emergency)

Fast Predictive Search with Selection Telemetry

On-Screen Keyboards (Multilingual with full RTL baseline; extensible to any locale per engagement)

Haptic and Audio Touch Feedback for a Hardware-Grade Feel

Idle Timeout System That Always Resets the Screen for the Next Visitor

Admin Map Editor (POI / Kiosk / Wall placement, snap-to-grid drawing)

Multi-Floor Path Drafting & Named Path Templates

Reusable Path Templates Across Buildings

Stored-Path Validation Against the Building's Wall Geometry

Autosave with Recoverable Map Editor Drafts

Undo / Redo Stack with Per-Layer Visibility Toggles

Floor and Kiosk Locking to Prevent Conflicting Concurrent Edits

Safe Delete with Quick Undo for POIs and Kiosks

Non-Blocking Telemetry That Never Slows the Kiosk UI

Per-Floor Navigation Heatmaps + Most-Searched POIs Analytics

Daily Trend Dashboard for Searches, Sessions, and Active Kiosks

Multilingual UI (Multilingual baseline; extensible to any locale per engagement) with Full RTL Support

Session-Based Admin Authentication with Hashed Passwords

Brute-Force Lockout on Failed Logins + Rate-Limited Endpoints

No Personal Data in Telemetry — Kiosk + Place Only

GDPR / HIPAA / PDPL Aligned (cloud or on-premise)

On-Premise Deployment for Full Data Sovereignty

Core Components

Wayfinding Components

The building blocks that power our wayfinding and deliver exceptional results.

GLARUS WFS core components diagram — kiosk runtime, pathfinding engine, QR handoff, map editor, hierarchy, multilingual, analytics, security — Core building blocks of a complete enterprise wayfinding platform.

Touch-First Kiosk Runtime

A full-screen kiosk runtime that runs on mounted hardware. Optimized for standard touchscreens.

Full-screen, responsive kiosk app built for tight render cycles on standard hardware
On-screen keyboard with Multilingual layouts plus haptic and audio touch feedback
Idle timeouts that always reset the screen to greet the next visitor cleanly
Kiosk locking so only one client ever owns a given physical screen

Multi-Floor Pathfinding Engine

A wall-aware routing engine — millisecond in-floor geometry plus multi-floor transition resolution.

Wall-aware shortest-path routing that guides visitors around walls and closures
Routes validated against the building's wall geometry before they are drawn
Multi-floor route resolution across elevators / stairs / escalators with estimated walk times
Picture-in-picture multi-floor display with one-tap swap

QR Handoff to Mobile Companion

Continue navigation on your phone without losing context. Secure, time-bound, no PII.

QR code carries only the route context — starting point and destination, no personal data
Time-limited secure session enforced on the mobile companion
Standalone mobile page with a step-by-step navigation card and estimated time
Re-language selection without losing the route

Admin Map Editor

Full WYSIWYG canvas for POIs, kiosks, walls, and multi-floor paths. Built for daily use by facility teams.

POI placement (10 types), kiosk placement, wall polygon drawing, multi-floor path drafting
Snap-to-grid drawing with keyboard shortcuts for fast editing
Named path templates reusable across many destinations
Continuous autosave with recoverable drafts; undo / redo + per-layer visibility

Building → Floor → POI Hierarchy

Real physical org structure modeled in the platform. POIs are categorized, indexed, and safely deletable.

A clear Building → Floor → POI / Kiosk / Wall / Route data model
10+ POI types: rooms, services, amenities, exits, emergency, ATMs, restrooms, etc.
Safe delete with a quick undo window on POIs and kiosks
Per-floor editor locking prevents conflicting concurrent edits

Multilingual UI

Multilingual ship as a production baseline with full RTL. Any other locale is added per engagement.

Per-language translation bundles extensible to any locale per engagement
Per-language on-screen keyboard layouts; additional layouts added per engagement
Automatic RTL layout for right-to-left scripts
Language preference remembered; the visitor can switch at any time

Zero-PII Analytics & Telemetry

Search and navigation events flow to analytics — anonymous, rate-limited, and non-blocking.

Telemetry keyed by kiosk + place + timestamp (never user identity)
Rate-limited telemetry endpoints to keep the platform stable
Non-blocking delivery — telemetry never slows the kiosk UI
Dashboard: total searches, sessions, active kiosks, per-floor heatmaps, top POIs, daily trend

Security & Compliance

Built for regulated environments — session auth, brute-force lockout, audit log, on-prem option.

Session-based admin authentication with hashed passwords
Brute-force lockout on repeated failed logins; rate-limited endpoints
Password complexity enforced on create, change, and reset
GDPR / HIPAA / PDPL / ISO 27001 aligned; cloud or on-premise with full data sovereignty

Benefits

Why Choose Our Wayfinding

Real-world advantages that drive measurable business outcomes.

Benefits infographic for GLARUS WFS — fewer reception interruptions, lower signage cost, higher CSAT, audit-ready compliance — Measurable outcomes: fewer interruptions, lower cost, higher satisfaction.

Cut "where is …?" reception interruptions by 60–80% across the estate

Eliminate visitor frustration with sub-second route resolution and live floor switching

Reduce wayfinding signage cost by 70% (no more reprinted floor plans every renovation)

Meet GDPR / HIPAA / PDPL compliance with zero-PII telemetry by design

Improve emergency-evacuation routing with elevator / stairs / route-type filters

Lift visitor satisfaction (CSAT / NPS) at hospitals, airports, and campuses by 25–40 points

Standardize the visitor experience across single-site to multi-campus deployments

Free reception and security staff for high-value interactions instead of giving directions

Visitor-completes-journey rate up 30–50% with mobile QR handoff continuity

Audit-ready analytics: top-searched POIs, per-floor heatmaps, kiosk activity, daily trend

Process

How Wayfinding Works

A simple, streamlined process to get you up and running quickly.

How GLARUS wayfinding works timeline — from search through route, QR handoff, idle reset, and audit

Map & Pathfind

Visitor finds the kiosk, taps the screen, searches by name or browses categories (rooms, services, amenities, exits). Predictive search responds instantly, and the wall-aware routing engine resolves a clear route in milliseconds — guiding visitors around walls and closures.

See the Route Live

The route renders on the floor plan with a clear "you are here" marker. Multi-floor journeys trigger a picture-in-picture corner showing the next floor; tap to swap. Elevator / stairs / escalator transitions are surfaced as discrete navigation steps.

Hand Off to Phone (Optional)

Tap "Continue on phone" to generate a QR code. The visitor scans it; the mobile companion opens with a time-limited secure session and the same step-by-step navigation card — without re-entering anything. No personal data is ever encoded.

Idle, Reset, Repeat

After a short period of inactivity, the kiosk resets to its ambient greeting and the screen dims. Any touch wakes it instantly, so it always greets the next visitor cleanly. Kiosk locking prevents two clients ever owning the same physical screen.

Curate, Measure, Improve

Admins use the map editor (POI / kiosk / wall placement, snap-to-grid drawing, multi-floor path drafting, named templates, undo / redo, autosave) to keep maps current. Per-floor heatmaps, most-searched POIs, and a daily trend dashboard show what visitors actually want.

Map & Pathfind

See the Route Live

Hand Off to Phone (Optional)

Idle, Reset, Repeat

Curate, Measure, Improve

Industries

Industries We Serve

Our wayfinding is designed to deliver value across diverse industries and operational environments.

Industries served by GLARUS wayfinding — hospitals, airports, malls, universities, government, museums, stadiums, more — High-stakes facilities where wayfinding carries operational weight.

Open the deep dive by vertical

Healthcare

Patient flow + clinical EMR, multilingual by engineering

Education

Campus flow + visitor mgmt + wayfinding + payment kiosks

Airports

Passenger flow + wayfinding + signage + parking

Hospitals & Clinics

Corporate Campuses & HQs

Airports & Aviation Hubs

Train Stations & Metro

Shopping Centers & Malls

Universities & K-12 Campuses

Government Buildings & Ministries

Museums & Galleries

Theme Parks & Attractions

Convention & Exhibition Centers

Stadiums & Arenas

Embassies & Visa Centers

Manufacturing & Industrial Sites

Logistics & Warehouses

Co-working & Serviced Offices

Research Labs & Pharmaceutical Sites

Religious & Heritage Sites

Hotels & Resorts

Banks & Financial Services

Public Service Halls

Production references

Customers running Wayfinding in production

1 featured deployment where Wayfinding ships today — a selection from a much wider production portfolio. Click any card for the full case-study deep dive.

Valletta, Malta · European Union

MFCR Ministry · Malta

Visitor management + ground-floor wayfinding deployed at the Ministry's main building in Malta — visitor registration, host notifications and meeting-area booking; hosted on MITA Azure.

Main ministry buildingRead

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Get answers to the most common questions about our wayfinding.

Explore Related Solutions

Complementary solutions that work seamlessly with our wayfinding.

Related GLARUS solutions to wayfinding — digital signage, self-service kiosk, visitor management, queue management, customer feedback — Solutions that extend wayfinding into a full customer-experience stack.

Digital Signage System

Pair wayfinding kiosks with the GRAVIA CMS to drive matching content on wall-mounted lobby TVs and information displays. One platform, one content pipeline.

Learn more

Self-Service Kiosk

The same GLARUS kiosk hardware (AUTO666 / KIOSAPP066) runs both wayfinding and self-service flows — appointment check-in, ticket printing, queue join — on the same physical device.

Learn more

Visitor Management System

When a visitor pre-registers, GLARUS VMS pre-loads their destination into the wayfinding kiosk so they're routed straight from the lobby to their host without any further interaction.

Learn more

Queue Management System

When a queue ticket is called, the wayfinding kiosk shows a directional arrow from the visitor's current position to the called counter. No more lost calls.

Learn more

Customer Feedback System

Capture post-visit feedback on wayfinding effectiveness via the same kiosk hardware — close the loop on visitor experience.

Learn more

Get Started Today

Ready to Transform Your Operations with Wayfinding?

Get started today with a personalized demo and see how our wayfinding can revolutionize your customer experience and operational efficiency.

Request a Demo Calculate ROI

Glossary

Definitions for the operational terms that appear across this page. Tap any chip to read the long-form entry plus its cross-links.

Bilingual Baseline Digital Signage CMS Property Management System (PMS)Vision 2030 + GCC Vision Programmes Wayfinding System WCAG 2.2 AA