Meridian is a mobile application platform from Aruba, a company of Hewlett Packard Enterprise that enables companies, hotels, settlements, airports, hospitals and conference centers to create or enhance the experience of using mobile applications for visitors on their mobile devices. These spaces can use the Meridian to deliver location-relevant information such as mapping, turn-by-turn navigation, event-specific information, and mobile app user notifications during their visits.

Figure 1. Show Meridian Editor

Meridian platform enables:

  • Turn by turn navigation
  • Receive relevant information through BlueDot technology
  • Advertising campaigns

Navigating visitors with turn-by-turn instructions shows how to reach a point of interest in your space. Visitors can choose their home location, or use it in combination with BlueDot and Aruba beacons to be aware of their location. The Meridian application allows visitors to reach the desired location with simple, internal navigation.

Figure 2. Show drawn route directions

With BlueDot options combined with navigation, visitors can receive relevant information depending on the zones in which they are located and information about significant nearby locations. BlueDot eliminates the burden on info counters since it can contain almost all the information essential to visitors. In addition, knowing the location of visitors can greatly facilitate the use of specific custom services such as delivering food at the stadium.

Figure 3. Show BlueDot Location Services

Creating a campaign allows visitors to receive contextually relevant information based on their position in the space. Campaigns can be used to inform customers of current discounts within shopping centers, promote the daily menu of restaurants, alert buyers to potential unpredictable situations by push notifications that are integrated with iOS and Android devices. Allows you to define a custom action when mobile devices are within Aruba beacon range. Campaign activation based on time of day, day of the week, periods can be tailored to the needs of the space in which Meridian is implemented.

Figure 4. Show Meridian campaign on mobile devices

The Meridian mobile platform requires more than just a mobile device. To keep Meridian functioning properly, a permanent Internet connection is required, Bluetooth is included, mobile location services included, and Aruba Beacons installed in the area where Meridiana is implemented. The Meridiana mobile application works within the Aruba Beacon range as mentioned, users who use the app can receive personalized push notifications related to the space they are in, and see their exact location within the map area. Meridian uses a cloud-based editor that actually has the CMS role for all Meridian tools. The editor can easily generate a mobile application and configure individual Aruba beacons for special functions. Integration with the ClearPass system is also enabled within the Aruba Ecosystem which is scalable and allows additional network access options and collects additional user activity data on a network. In order for Aruba beacons to function properly, internet access must be stable and guaranteed. It is a recommendation to use Aruba solutions for the added features that Aruba access points offer, even though implementation at the already existing across-the-board Cisco Meraki or Ruckus system is also not a problem. There are beacons that are already factory-integrated in the Aruba access points that have the ability to monitor other beacons within range and can communicate with the Meridian Editor so that any changes that occur in the editor are real-time visible on each beacon at the site. ClearPass and Meridian applications work together as a coordinated solution. ClearPass allows guests to connect to the wireless network and take off the Meridian application on their mobile device. Aruba beacons placed at the location send Bluetooth signals via the mobile device and based on signal strength, locate the user on the map itself that is visible to the user. The mobile application then real-time allows users to navigate within the enclosed space, and generate push notifications when it is located close to the beacons that are configured for that function.

Figure 5. Meridian platform integration to the existing Aruba network

For the HPE 360 conference, the company Badurini Ltd. has implemented the Meridian platform at the Sheraton Hotel Zagreb. There are about 80 battery Aruba beacons and ten Aruba access points. The aim of the project was to enable all visitors to the conference to have an overview of all the professional lectures, and the ability to navigate to desired lectures as well as other important locations at the conference itself. As seen in Figure 9, the Meridian editor is an intuitive interface through which a user with basic technical knowledge can easily change platform settings and in real-time see how his mobile application looks like.

Figure 6. Navigation inside Sheraton Hotel Zagreb

Aside from the Meridian enabling HPE 360 visitors to navigate, the “Friends” option was activated for the first time. This option requires a Meridian application to the first register within the application as a user and enable the sharing of its location within the Meridian platform with those customers who have a friend request. For example, if 10 users allow the “Friends” option within the Meridian platform and exchanging friendship requests, they can at any time see the person who is in the map to see where it is and can quickly get to it. If you consider that the conference was visited by sixty people, this option is very useful if you want to find someone and talk to it. Sharing your own location is possible at any time to pause, so the privacy of the user is guaranteed.
Regarding the rest of the Meridian platform, it is possible in real-time to monitor the number of Wi-Fi users in the real-time, where most users stay, which devices are connected to the network, what matters most at the conference, and in what part of the location they are creating crowds.

In February last year at Levi’s Stadium held the Super Bowl where Aruba implemented its Meridian system and enabled wireless access to nearly 70,000 people. Over 1 200 access points and 1 500 Aruba beacons were set up that enabled navigation at the stadium itself. Aside from being able to navigate to food stalls, Meridian has also enabled the size of rows of toilets and food to keep track of where the bulk of the crowd is, and thus avoid a long wait and create even greater crowds. In addition to routing, Meridian also provided food delivery to its own headquarters and paid the same within the app, which together with other purchase options generated over $ 1 million in profit. Since Meridiana can see where the user is located, we can see that the application of such technology could soon take place in other places as well.

Figure 7. Display the Meridian application and navigation within the stadium

Another example of the implementation of the Meridian system is a pediatric hospital in Boston. Given that the hospital was built in 150 years in various ways, moving from one building to another was often a tedious job to help staff and patients, the hospitals created a variety of color maps, but this has only made it even more difficult complicated movement. In 2012, the hospital implemented the MyWay, an internal navigation system based on the Meridian platform. After only 6 months, the application was removed and more than 4 500 patients were actively used. Most missed search terms happen precisely because of the search for an appropriate building or department within the hospital, with the Meridian platform becoming a thing of the past. The implementation of Meridiana in hospitals has proven to be a viable investment, besides allowing hospitals within the hospitals, it is possible to contact their doctor directly and find other facilities easily.

Figure 8. A Meridian based application show a sample of a pediatric hospital in Boston