The mapping walk

Before the walk

• Plan the route so that every public corridor, every destination door and every stair and elevator lobby is walked at least once.
• Walk during normal lighting with the building in its everyday state. Crowds, temporary signage and closed shutters all end up in the frames.
• Have the destination names ready in the words visitors use: room numbers, department names, “Reception”, “Cafeteria”.

During the walk

1. 1

   Start at an entrance

   Begin where visitors begin. The app waits until tracking is reliable before it records.

2. 2

   Walk at a steady pace

   Hold the phone upright at chest height, pointing ahead. Keep moving; stops and slow pans are fine, fast swings are not.

3. 3

   Pause at destinations

   Slow down at each door, sign and counter so the frames capture the permanent features a visitor will later point their camera at.

4. 4

   Change floors deliberately

   Walk into the elevator or onto the stairs and out again at the other end. Tracking is paused where it cannot be trusted and resumed afterwards.

5. 5

   Close loops

   Return to places you have already passed. Revisiting a corridor from the other direction tightens the map.

6. 6

   Finish

   Stop the recording at a recognisable place. The recording is saved on the phone.

What makes a good recording

• Uninterrupted tracking. Covering the camera, pocketing the phone or very dark corridors break tracking and leave gaps.
• Textured surroundings. Blank white walls and glass give tracking and recognition little to work with; walk closer to doors and signs.
• Complete coverage. A destination that was never walked past cannot be generated.