A cutting-edge navigation system for mobiles will help visitors to the expo find their way around the massive National Exhibition and Convention Center.

As well as the problem of size — the center covers 1.47 million square meters — weak satellite signals mean any existing navigation system would fail to run effectively inside the building.

However, a team from Tongji University has developed a new system for the expo.

Team leader Liu Erwu, a professor from Tongji College’s Department of Electronics and Information Engineering, said they had used a positioning algorithm, the Dynamic Weighted Evolution for Location Tracking, which they developed independently, together with the technologies of artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the Internet of Things to create the system.

It can even work without satellite or wireless Internet signals as it uses signals sent by mobile phone sensors, geomagnetic signals and visible signals.

The system has been embedded in the official CIIE application and the WeChat mini program of CIIE, which both have Chinese and English versions.

To use the system, visitors download the official app and click on “Navigation.”

If they prefer using WeChat, they can scan a QR code to open a mini program, and click on “Floor Plan.”

“We hope to enable visitors to find their destinations on their own and effectively reduce the burden on the service staff in the exhibition center,” said Liu.

Students will be at the expo to help visitors with the system.