Indoor/outdoor continuity.
One blue dot,
from the street to the room.
GPS gets people to the door; BLE and Wi-Fi take over inside. Continuity fuses them into one uninterrupted location - so navigation never stops at the entrance.
What is indoor/outdoor continuity?
Indoor/outdoor continuity is the ability to track location seamlessly as a person or asset moves between outdoor and indoor spaces. It fuses satellite positioning (GNSS/GPS) outdoors with BLE and Wi-Fi positioning indoors, handing over between them at the building boundary so the location stays continuous - one uninterrupted blue dot from the street to the room, with no gap at the entrance.
Seamless positioning across the indoor-outdoor boundary, in a single continuous experience.
A location engine fuses GNSS outdoors with BLE and Wi-Fi indoors, handing over in a transition zone.
On campuses, airports, hospitals and logistics sites - anywhere a journey crosses the door.
Navigation and tracking that don't stop at the entrance - one app, one map. See indoor positioning.
How the handover works
The engine listens to whichever signals are strongest, and switches sources smoothly as a device crosses the boundary - so the position never jumps or drops.
GNSS / GPS
Transition zone
BLE + Wi-Fi
Source fusion
One continuous position
App, map, API
1Outdoors: GNSS
Outside, satellite positioning (GPS and other GNSS) locates the device with the few-metre accuracy that's normal in open sky - enough to guide someone to the right entrance.
2The transition zone
Near the entrance, GNSS weakens as the building blocks the sky, while BLE and Wi-Fi signals grow strong. This overlap is where the handover happens.
3Fusion does the work
The engine doesn't just switch abruptly - it weighs each source by confidence and blends them, so the position stays smooth and consistent right through the doorway.
4One experience
To the user it's a single blue dot on a single map that spans outdoors and indoors, delivered to your app through NAO® SDK.
The components of a continuity system
Two positioning sources, one engine to fuse them, and a single map that spans both worlds.
GNSS / GPS
01The outdoor source. Satellite positioning locates the device under open sky, typically to a few metres - enough for street-level and campus navigation.
BLE + Wi-Fi infrastructure
02The indoor source. BLE beacons and BLE-enabled Cisco, Aruba and Fortinet access points take over where GNSS fades, for 1-5 m indoor accuracy.
Fusion engine
The coreThe software that makes continuity possible. It weighs each source by confidence and blends them, managing the handover in the transition zone so the position stays smooth - never jumping or dropping as the user crosses the boundary.
Unified map
04A single georeferenced map that aligns outdoor and indoor floor plans, so one blue dot moves naturally from street to corridor without switching views.
SDK & API
05The integration layer that delivers continuous location into your own mobile app - one SDK for outdoor and indoor, plus API access for your systems.
Accuracy across the boundary
Accuracy naturally shifts as the source changes. What matters most for continuity isn't a single number - it's a smooth, gap-free transition.
Accuracy by zone
The real challenge: the transition
Where continuity is won or lost
Getting accuracy right outdoors or indoors is well understood. The hard part is the doorway, where GNSS degrades and indoor signals are just coming into range. A poor system jumps, freezes or shows two positions; a good one blends sources so the dot glides through. This is a software problem - and it's exactly what the fusion engine is built for.
What influences a smooth handover
Why continuity changes the experience
Navigation never stops at the door
The journey from parking to destination is guided end to end, instead of leaving people to find their own way once inside.
One app, one map
A single blue dot spans outdoors and indoors, so users never switch tools or lose their place at the boundary.
No dead zone at the entrance
The transition is smoothed by fusion, avoiding the jump or freeze that breaks trust in a navigation app.
End-to-end journey analytics
Understanding the full path - approach, entry and indoor movement - reveals bottlenecks a single-domain view would miss.
Runs on existing infrastructure
Indoors it reuses your BLE-enabled Wi-Fi; outdoors it uses GNSS already in every phone - little new hardware.
Assets tracked across the site
Vehicles and equipment stay visible from the yard to inside the building, closing the gap where they usually disappear.
GPS-only vs indoor-only vs fused continuity
Most sites already have outdoor or indoor positioning - rarely both, joined up. Here's what each approach delivers, and why fusing them is different in kind, not just degree.
Why fusing beats switching
Running GPS and an indoor system side by side isn't continuity - the user still feels the seam. True continuity comes from one engine that fuses both sources and one map that spans both worlds.
Continuity, orchestrated by NAO Suite
Pole Star's software fuses outdoor and indoor positioning into one experience - built on the same BLE and Wi-Fi implementation used across its platform.
One platform for the whole journey
NAO Suite handles GNSS outdoors and BLE + Wi-Fi indoors through a single location engine and SDK. Because indoor and outdoor share one map and one integration, the handover is designed in - not bolted on. You get navigation, RTLS, geofencing and analytics that work continuously across the boundary.
True source fusion
One engine blends GNSS, BLE and Wi-Fi - not two systems switching abruptly.
Single SDK
One integration delivers the whole journey into your own mobile app.
Existing infrastructure
Indoors it reuses BLE-enabled Cisco, Aruba and Fortinet access points.
Open & hardware-agnostic
Open API and SDK, interoperable across tags and infrastructures.
One platform
Navigation, RTLS, geofencing and analytics - across indoor and outdoor.
20+ years of expertise
Deep indoor location experience, now extended seamlessly outdoors.
GNSS · ISO 27001
GPS-only vs indoor-only vs fused continuity
Most sites already have outdoor or indoor positioning - rarely both, joined up. Here's what each approach delivers, and why fusing them is different in kind, not just degree.
Why fusing beats switching
Running GPS and an indoor system side by side isn't continuity - the user still feels the seam. True continuity comes from one engine that fuses both sources and one map that spans both worlds.
Deploying indoor/outdoor continuity
Continuity mostly builds on positioning you may already have. The extra work is joining the two worlds - aligning maps and tuning the transition.
What you need in place
How a rollout runs
Survey both worlds
Assess outdoor GNSS conditions and indoor coverage, focusing on the entrances.
Align the maps
Georeference indoor floor plans to the outdoor map so they share one frame.
Enable indoor positioning
Configure BLE and Wi-Fi and connect the access points to the location engine.
Tune the transition
Set up transition zones and calibrate fusion so the handover is smooth.
Integrate via SDK
Deliver continuous location into the app and connect systems through the API.
Validate & go live
Walk real journeys through the doorway, refine, then launch.
Continuity-specific watch-points
Indoor/outdoor continuity, on the ground at Paris CDG
A real deployment of the hand-off in action: for Onet, Pole Star tracks ground handling teams continuously as they cross from indoor sorting halls to the outdoor apron - all from the phone in their hand, with no dedicated vehicle hardware.
Ground handling teams tracked from the sorting hall to the aircraft
Agents and baggage tractors cross constantly between indoor sorting facilities and outdoor airside zones. Pole Star delivers a unified indoor/outdoor operational view - geolocating teams through their professional smartphones, powered by NAO® Mobile.
- Continuous tracking with no gap at the indoor/outdoor boundary
- Location comes from the device, not the vehicle - coverage follows the agent
- Missions assigned, triggered and monitored live
- Congestion spotted at sorter infeed before it bites
- Missions and movements recorded automatically for traceability
- Supervision & analytics through NAO® Viewer
Indoor/outdoor continuity, answered
What is indoor/outdoor continuity?
It's seamless positioning as a person or asset moves between outdoor and indoor spaces - fusing GNSS outdoors with BLE and Wi-Fi indoors into one continuous location.
How does the handover between GPS and indoor positioning work?
Near the entrance, GNSS weakens while indoor signals strengthen. A fusion engine weighs each source by confidence and blends them, so the position transitions smoothly instead of switching abruptly.
What is a transition zone?
It's the area around a building entrance where outdoor and indoor coverage overlap. The engine manages the handover here, which is why entrance coverage is a key deployment factor.
Which technologies are fused?
Does continuity need special hardware?
Usually not beyond your indoor positioning setup. GNSS is already in phones, and indoors it reuses BLE-enabled Wi-Fi access points.
How are indoor and outdoor maps combined?
Indoor floor plans are georeferenced to the outdoor map so both share one coordinate frame - letting a single blue dot move across them without switching views.
How accurate is continuous positioning?
It varies by zone: roughly 3-10 m outdoors with GNSS and 1-5 m indoors with BLE and Wi-Fi. In the transition, the engine blends both to keep the position smooth.
What's the hardest part of a continuity deployment?
The transition at the entrance. Getting coverage overlap, map alignment and fusion tuning right is what makes the handover feel seamless rather than jumpy.
Can I use my existing indoor positioning?
Yes. If BLE or Wi-Fi positioning is already in place, continuity mainly adds outdoor fusion, map alignment and transition tuning on top.
Why does the blue dot sometimes jump at the door?
That's usually poor map registration or an abrupt source switch. Proper georeferencing and confidence-weighted fusion remove the jump.
Does it work across multiple buildings?
Yes - it's well suited to campuses and multi-building sites, guiding across outdoor areas and several indoor spaces on one map.
Can it be hosted on-premise?
Yes. The platform runs in the cloud or on-premise, to match your security and data-residency requirements.
Who needs indoor/outdoor continuity?
Sites where journeys cross the door - airports, campuses, hospitals, logistics sites and large venues - where a break at the entrance hurts the experience or loses assets.
How is this different from running GPS and an indoor app separately?
Two separate systems still leave a visible seam. Continuity fuses both into one engine and one map, so users never switch tools or lose their place. See the comparison.
What business value does it add?
End-to-end guidance, a smoother visitor experience, fewer missed connections, and journey analytics that span the whole path rather than only part of it.
Can it track assets, not just people?
Yes. Vehicles and equipment stay visible from the outdoor yard through to inside the building, closing the usual blind spot at the doors.
Does it integrate with our systems?
Through the API and SDK it connects to mobile apps and business systems, delivering continuous location wherever you need it.
Is it GDPR compliant?
It's designed to support strict data regimes, with aggregation, role-based access and on-premise options configured to each organization's policy.
The technologies behind continuity
Continuity brings these together. Explore each one to see how it contributes.
Indoor positioning
FoundationThe indoor half of continuity - how location works once GNSS can no longer reach.
Explore indoor positioningBLE
Indoor sourceThe primary indoor technology - precise, low-power positioning that takes over inside.
Explore BLEWi-Fi
Indoor sourceCoverage on existing access points, paired with BLE for indoor accuracy.
Explore Wi-FiNAO SDK
IntegrationDelivers the fused indoor-outdoor blue dot into your own mobile app.
Explore NAO SDKGuide people all the way - from the street to the room
Book a demo and we'll show one continuous blue dot crossing your own entrance - GNSS outdoors, BLE and Wi-Fi indoors, fused into a single journey.
- GNSS outdoors, BLE + Wi-Fi indoors - one engine
- Seamless handover on one shared map
- Delivered to your app via a single SDK
Ready to see it on your own site? Get in touch and we'll set up a technical demo.
Book a demo