Design consultancy launches Covid-proof intelligent wayfinding system

For businesses operating through the pandemic, space design and safety are key priorities. One company has designed a system that enables intelligent wayfinding.

Imagine being in a busy retail store or supermarket and not knowing which corner to turn to avoid the crowd. NavigatAR, created by global brand experience and design consultancy 2LK’s internal R&D team, uses spatial computing, AI and project mapping to track the environment and tell customers and employees exactly which alternative route to take to minimise contact risk. The Covid-proof intelligent wayfinding system monitors, informs and protects people as they navigate through commercial and cultural experiential spaces including events, exhibitions venues and grocery stores.

According to Andy Sexton, partner and executive creative director at 2LK, NavigatAr aims to mitigate the confusion around the new, contradicting rules put in place in commercial and cultural spaces as a result of Covid-19. “NavigatAR aims to take confusion out of the equation, so that people can return to their favourite shops, events and leisure destinations with confidence, knowing that they will be able to keep their personal space personal,” he says.  “To effectively govern our actions and movements, we need real-time data and dynamic visual guidance,” Sexton adds.

Projected safe zones, which are entirely customisable allowing a brand or sponsor to incorporate their own identity’s look and feel, bring visual clarity of people’s proximity to each other. NavigatAR’s dynamic wayfinding encourages movement in a single direction that can be re-routed as necessary to avoid risk, while its traceable speed and velocity enables more targeted cleaning within shops and venues.

“This innovation perfectly encapsulates our internal R&D team’s purpose – anticipate, address and probe new products, services and opportunities in response to emerging trends, to solve real world problems within experiential spaces,” says Sexton.

2LK is currently discussing the testing and deployment of NavigatAR with a number of brands.