IMDF Indoor Map Platform

IMDF (Indoor Mapping Data Format) is an indoor map data format created by Apple and adopted by OGC as a Community Standard. It describes a venue's levels, spaces, entrances and amenities, and it is the format used to submit indoor maps to Apple Maps.

Cloud Communication Technology (CCT) has airport-grade IMDF map data production and validation capability, and can produce IMDF submission files that meet Apple Business Register requirements. Building on the IMDF international standard, we help large venues quickly stand up an indoor map platform that is their own and that they can keep working on.

A Complete Map Platform Service, from Map Data to Operations

Build the map data in a standard format first, then let it serve both the passengers outside and the operations team inside

IMDF Map Production

Build venue map data in IMDF, the international indoor map format, with integration for both Apple Maps and Google Maps indoor maps.

Learn about IMDF Map Production

Passenger Guidance and Wayfinding

Turn the map viewer into routes passengers can follow: facility information, floor switching and directional guidance, so fewer people have to ask or get lost.

Learn about passenger guidance

Internal Operations and Upkeep

The same map data supports work-order management, maintenance records and map updates, and can extend into web-based building digital management (BIM).

Learn about internal operations

IMDF Map Production

IMDF (Indoor Mapping Data Format) is an indoor map exchange format created by Apple and adopted by OGC. It describes levels, units, openings, amenities and wayfinding points in a standardized way. Producing your venue map data in IMDF once gives you an asset that can be published to map platforms and worked on in-house at the same time. The specification itself is on the OGC IMDF standard page and in Apple's IMDF specification; for a walkthrough of the file structure, validation rules and build steps, see our practical guide to IMDF.

Service Scope

  • Build venue indoor map data in the IMDF standard format
  • Apple Maps indoor map data preparation and submission support
  • Google Maps indoor map integration
  • Deliver a map platform you own and can keep working on, without lock-in to a single platform

Why Start from a Standard Format

  • Structured descriptions across multiple levels and terminals, so a revision does not mean redrawing
  • Map data is decoupled from the application, so changing the front end does not mean rebuilding the map
  • One set of map data can feed wayfinding, work orders and later digital management at the same time
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Illustration of an airport indoor map platform build

Passenger Guidance and Directions

Passengers at large venues almost always ask the same two questions: what is this, and which way do I go. Once the map platform is in place, the map itself answers both, instead of a staffed counter explaining them one by one.

Public-Facing Features

  • Guides to facilities and service points
  • Route and direction guidance, with multi-level switching
  • Point-of-interest (POI) search and browsing by category
  • Can be embedded in the venue's existing app or website

Suitable Venues

  • Airports and terminals
  • Stations and transport hubs
  • Hospitals and medical campuses
  • Exhibition halls and large office buildings
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Illustration of indoor guidance and directions

Internal Operations and Map Data Upkeep

The value of a map platform is not only external. Once the same map data is connected to internal processes, where a piece of equipment sits, who repairs it and when it was last serviced can all be marked directly on the map, instead of being scattered across separate forms.

Internal Applications

  • Work-order management: assign and track tasks by location
  • Maintenance records: a trail of past work on equipment and spaces
  • Map data updates and version maintenance

Long-Term Upkeep Service

Map platform hosting, POI content maintenance and hybrid cloud + on-premises deployment after the map data is built are offered monthly at published prices. See IMDF Map Hosting.

Future Extensions

  • Extending into web-based building digital management. See the Lightweight BIM Viewer
  • Data integration with existing facility management systems
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Illustration of work-order and maintenance management inside the map platform

Related Solutions

Beyond map data: solutions that get the venue itself moving.

Indoor Positioning (RTLS)

Technology selection and deployment for UWB, Bluetooth iBeacon and WiFi fingerprinting.

Learn about Indoor Positioning

Lightweight BIM Viewer

Put existing as-built CAD or a single floor plan online directly. 2D, 3D and IMDF come from one source, and stable space IDs keep records attached.

Learn about the Lightweight BIM Viewer

IMDF Map Hosting

Monthly hosting once the map data is built: published pricing, cloud or hybrid cloud + on-premises deployment, a management sandbox and a review-and-publish workflow.

See published pricing

FAQ

What IMDF is, how it relates to CAD and BIM, who uses it, and what to prepare before a build

IMDF (Indoor Mapping Data Format) is an indoor map format created by Apple and adopted by OGC as a Community Standard. It describes a venue's levels, units, openings, amenities and wayfinding points in a standardized way. Indoor maps in Apple Maps are submitted as IMDF, and the same map data can also power the venue's own wayfinding map viewer and internal operations systems.

IMDF is built on GeoJSON (RFC 7946): every level, space and amenity is a geographic feature with attributes, so GIS tools that support GeoJSON can generally open it. CAD and BIM are the drawings and models used for design and construction; IMDF is indoor map data distilled from those drawings for wayfinding and search. An IMDF build usually starts from the venue's existing CAD drawings or floor plans, classifying and naming each space and aligning it to geographic coordinates. It does not replace CAD or BIM.

Apple Maps above all: once a venue submits IMDF map data through Apple's Indoor Maps Program, users can see indoor levels and the locations of stores and amenities in Apple Maps. Apple's IMDF specification also includes modeling guidance for airports, shopping malls and train stations. Beyond Apple Maps, a venue can use the same IMDF data to build its own web or app wayfinding map viewer.

Essentially a floor plan of every level. CAD drawings are ideal, but a floor plan alone can be traced. Add the name and use of each space (for example counters, restrooms and entrances), how the levels relate to one another, and a list of the amenities and service points to show on the map. Production is estimated from floor area and number of levels; a venue that already has IMDF map data can be hosted directly without a new build.

Map production is one-time work: we turn the venue into compliant IMDF map data and help prepare it for submission to Apple Maps. Hosting the map platform, maintaining POI content and hybrid cloud + on-premises deployment after the map data is built are long-term upkeep, offered monthly at published prices. See IMDF Map Hosting. A venue that already has IMDF map data can start directly with hosting.

Need an indoor map platform for your own venue?

From IMDF map production to long-term upkeep, Cloud Communication Technology supports planning and implementation at every step

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