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Industry News
Alternative Positioning Systems Boosts LBS Industry
By Susan Smith

According to a recent ABI Research study, “ Alternative Positioning Technologies,” GPS is only part of location based solutions (LBS). Particularly in Europe, ABI practice director Dominique Bonte said in a recent interview, there are not a lot of GPS handsets, as most people are using mid-range or low end handsets that don’t have GPS capabilities. In the U.S., due to e-911 emergency calling regulations, all the carriers have GPS-enabled handsets, to determine location in case of emergency. Companies such as Verizon and Sprint offer GPS enabled handsets.

Another factor is that GPS doesn’t work well in indoors or in urban canyons where there is no clear view of the sky for it to pick up satellite signals. “It either performs very badly or doesn’t perform at all,” said Bonte. “So that’s why it’s so important to complement GPS with these alternative positioning technologies and there are many different ones, the most popular one is called cell ID. If GPS is not available, then the location is shown as cell ID.”

Basically the location of the cell tower of the user’s cellular provider, which has limited accuracy, provides additional coverage and gives the user the approximate location whenever GPS doesn’t give any location at all.

The second alternative location based solution that has gotten a lot of attention in the U.S. is WiFi. The measurements of WiFi signals from WiFi hotspots determine the location – “this is much more accurate, I think accuracy is between 50 and 100 meters whereas cell ID could be up to several hundred meters.” The licensing of Skyhook Wireless’s Wi-Fi positioning to GPS-chipset vendors Broadcom, Qualcomm, SiRF, and CSR add to availability. According to ABI Research press materials, Sprint’s recent decision to allow third-party developers access to its network-based location platform via location aggregators such as Wavemarket, Loc-Aid, and uLocate will stimulate the use of hybrid positioning. Google is building their own reference database of cell-tower and/or Wi-Fi hotspot locations via user-generated content and/or self-learning mechanisms, allowing them to offer LBS services independent of carriers.

“Currently you need to look at all the different positioning technologies and how they actually compliment each other to provide the end user with what I would call ‘seamless location experience,’ which would give them location where ever it is, not necessarily always with the same accuracy,” explained Bonte. “But there’s always a fall back option to WiFi or cell ID, so that in any circumstance you have a certain awareness of the application and what the application is using for local search or social networking. Everybody keeps talking about GPS, but it’s no longer just about GPS, it’s about a range of different technologies.”

Compasses are now increasingly built into handsets such as the Apple iPhone, T-Mobile Google G1 and some of Nokia’s handsets. This is expected to become more widespread, as the compass allows users to know their orientation in addition to location.

“Companies need to look at a whole spectrum of technologies,” suggested Bonte. There has been discussion that the GPS constellation could be degraded to fewer satellites, going down from 29 or 30 to 24. This would then reduce the reliability and capability of GPS even further. The launch of new GPS satellites may be delayed, with the older satellites gradually becoming outdated and reaching the end of their lifecycle.

On the other hand, new systems like GLONASS in Russia or the European Galileo and a new Chinese satellite system are in different phases of rollout. GLONASS is fairly available, Galileo is still in the early stages of development and the Chinese plan to have a full constellation by 2016.

Several carriers in the U.S. such as Verizon don’t provide access to GPS in their handsets, according to Bonte. Third parties developers create a software application with GPS capability to sell to an app store but if the user downloads it to his Verizon the GPS capability will be locked. Verizon only makes it available for their own applications and not for non-Verizon branded applications. “This is another reason companies are providing alternative positioning technologies which may have lower accuracy or precision but which offer sufficient precision for certain apps,” Bonte said. “For instance, for local search, if you’re looking for the nearest restaurant, you don’t necessarily need to know down to the meter or to the yards where the restaurant is if you know it’s in the immediate vicinity, if you know the street name and the number. That will be enough to find your way to the restaurant. Obviously for navigation you need more precision and still need GPS. For many of the new social networking applications you don’t need to know the precision to that high of accuracy.”

Alternative positioning is opening up the environment to allow smaller companies to get into the game, and make it not such an exclusive domain for the carriers. The iPhone has over 2,500 LBS applications on it which are using a combination of GPS and WiFi based cell ID location technology. “This created already a huge boost for the LBS industry because prior to this, there was hardly anything available,” noted Bonte. “That’s an example of how important these alternative positioning technologies have become.”

The electronic compass is a traditional compass built electronically that knows how to orient a map. For example, if you’re standing in front of a building, the map will automatically orient correctly, “so you’re trying to match the map view with the reality around you.”

An “accelerometer” detects movement. The Google G1 includes a combination of the compass and accelerometer which allows the system to not only know the orientation but also the speed at which the user’s orientation is changing, “you may be turning around and by detecting that movement it can immediately adapt the orientation of the map on your cell phone,” explained Bonte. “It’s used in the iPhone by some applications when you turn the phone. The orientation for the picture is automatically changed. It’s a sensor that essentially detects motions to provide you with landscape view, or self portrait view. It can also be used for LBS apps to keep track of your orientation and speed orientation as it is changing. So in that respect it’s kind of an extension of location by adding orientation.”

Clearly the widespread use of the iPhone and other smartphones is driving the use of LBS, but also the availability of LBS drives the use of the handsets. Because GPS takes awhile to calculate a location, an alternative positioning system can help GPS get a quicker fix on location.

“I think in the next years we’ll see location become almost like a default feature on almost any mobile app,” predicted Bonte. “It’s going to become an embedded characteristic of anything we do, be it messaging or networking or local search.”

As the carriers are no longer the sole providers of LBS, the market is destined to change and more handset manufacturers or independent third party software developers will start offering their own solutions independent of the carriers.

Top News of the Week

Vexcel Corp., a Microsoft company, announced the availability of version 2.0 of the Microsoft Virtual Earth Server, the on-premises intranet mapping platform based on Microsoft Bing Maps for Enterprise (formerly known as Microsoft Virtual Earth). Virtual Earth Server is designed for those customers who are interested in using Bing Maps, for example defense/intelligence customers or first responders (police, fire, etc), but have concerns about a dependency upon, or connection to, the internet in order to access this service. Either their application is too critical to rely on internet connectivity, they don’t have an internet connection, their internet connection isn’t sufficiently reliable or fast, or they have other security concerns.

Leica Geosystems announces the completely new Leica ScanStation C10, the company’s biggest leap forward yet in laser scanners for as-built and topographic surveys. The compact, all-in-one Leica ScanStation C10 provides users with a combination of even greater versatility, reduced cost of ownership, and even higher productivity for scanning. These advances not only address today’s scanning professionals, but also address organizations wanting to enter into laser scanning to diversify and/or improve their current business.

OneGIS announced that it has released version 1.1 of its mobile field force automation software, OneView Mobile. This new version of its work-focused, asset-centric mobile GIS application now comes with an Action Framework that allows field personnel to apply specific work-related actions to help them automate their daily work assignments. By using OneView Mobile with 3G cell phone cards or using a WiFi connection, technicians can have up to the minute access not only to their daily service orders, but also to information from their operational systems such as OMS as well as to commercial web services such as those providing real-time weather data.

IGN France International, the export subsidiary of the French Geographic Institute, has just opened a new subsidiary company in Abu Dhabi.

The launch of this foreign office was conceived as a means to efficiently respond to the growing needs of decision‐makers in the Middle East, specifically in the field of geomatics (mapping, geodesy, geographic data, GIS, web portals…) and to accompany them in their infrastructural projects.

Acquisitions, Agreements, Alliances

China Security & Surveillance Technology, Inc. announced it has signed an E-city project framework agreement valued at approximately RMB 1 billion (approximately US$146.2 million based on an exchange rate of USD 1.00 to RMB 6.84) with the local government of Haimen City in the southeast of Jiangsu Province.

Oraton Simulation Technologies, a provider of geospatial data and technology, announced that it has entered into a strategic channel partnership with software maker IDV Solutions to provide visual, interactive solutions for government, military and commercial clients in Greece and other European, African, and Asian markets.

Inmarsat plc, provider of global mobile satellite communications services, and the Immersive Visualization Center (SDSU “Viz Lab") at San Diego State University’s Homeland Security Program, announced a new partnership to develop and test solutions to extend the availability of time-critical Geographic Information System (GIS) data to remote fire teams fighting wildfires.

Utilizing Inmarsat’s innovative Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service and building on cutting-edge visualization research at San Diego State University, the partnership will develop solutions to replace static, hours-old information with dynamic, real-time data.

Urban Mapping, Inc. (UMI) and American Digital Cartography Inc. (ADCi) announced that ADCi has signed a reseller's agreement to offer the URBANWARE Neighborhoods database to its customers in the local and state government, transportation, education, utilities and Internet and wireless industries. ADCi is a leading distributor for both NAVTEQ and Tele Atlas street data, selling data by the county, group of counties, state, group of states, or the entire country. With the Urban Mapping data, ADCi can now offer a new layer of information for customers requiring accurate and useable neighborhood data.

Announcements

ESRI (UK) and Bing Maps, the powerful mapping platform from Microsoft, have launched a UK GIS Mashup contest to challenge software developers across the UK to create a unique GIS mashup using ArcGIS and Bing Maps.

Developers visiting the Mashup Challenge website are provided with a host of resources including free ArcGIS data feeds, ArcGIS mapping Applications Programming Interfaces (APIs) and Bing Maps developer accounts, making entry to the competition quick and simple.

The U.S. electric system, "the supreme engineering achievement of the 20th century," is aging, inefficient, congested, and incapable of meeting future energy needs, according to a recent U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report. As electric utilities work to overcome challenges laid out in the DOE report, they can find guidance in a new benchmark study that focuses on a smart grid and geographic information system (GIS) technology. The study, conducted by GIS technology leader ESRI, provides participants with customized reports comparing their smart grid readiness to that of peer groups.

Believed to be the solution to modernize utilities around the world, a smart grid adds communication and computer technology to electric networks, ensuring cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable energy. GIS is the sturdy platform on which utilities rely for crucial smart grid components such as data management, analysis, planning, mobile applications, visualization, and awareness.

ESRI and Trimble have launched the 2009 Mobile Government Grant Program. Grants will award hardware, software, and training with a value of $89,980 to 20 state and local government agencies in the United States.

On September 8, 2009, applicants can begin submitting their applications. The official deadline for all submissions is 5:00 p.m. Pacific time, November 20, 2009. Awards will be announced December 18, 2009.

To learn more about the ESRI and Trimble Mobile Government Grants, visit this website.

NAVTEQ reports that the number of turn-by-turn (TBT) navigation users has surpassed key milestones for the United States and Europe in 2009 by reaching the 50 million and 75 million mark respectively.

In the US, the number of TBT users surged past 50+ million in 2009 and is comprised of more than 9 million embedded in-vehicle navigation systems, more than 30 million personal navigation devices (PNDs) and over 18 million mobile navigation downloads (source: NAVTEQ internal research).

NAVTEQ announced that GPS data from Nokia handsets is now being integrated into NAVTEQ Traffic products in Europe and North America.

New Products

Avineon, Inc. announced immediate availability of Avineonics 2.0, the latest version of its state-of-the-art emergency management software. The application enables organizations to better integrate emergency preparedness with daily operations and increase the efficiency of incident management processes. Released to coincide with National Preparedness Month, Avineonics 2.0 includes new and enhanced features for measuring emergency preparedness, managing incidents as they occur, and producing after action reports. The latest release highlights Avineon's commitment to providing the most robust and comprehensive technology in the market today.

NAVTEQ announced the launch of NAVTEQ Traffic in Europe. NAVTEQ Traffic delivers a single source solution enabling drivers uninterrupted traffic information when crossing borders in 11 countries including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. NAVTEQ Traffic will also be available in Luxembourg and The Netherlands by the end of 2009.

MC International carries a comprehensive line of telecommunications data products so businesses can make better decisions and gain the competitive edge. Using updated communications data integrated with software like ArcView or MapInfo Professional can help you to visualize the telecommunications landscape for more profitable operations and competitive analysis.

TerraGo Technologies announced the general availability of its TerraGo Publisher for ArcGIS version 5 software. The new solution gives customers the ability to create higher-performing, higher-quality GeoPDF maps and images when working within an ESRI ArcGIS environment. These files can be leveraged by field/mobile workers using the TerraGo Toolbar or TerraGo Mobile applications for more effective intelligence gathering and spatial-based collaboration.

Applanix launched POSPac Mobile Mapping Suite (MMS) 5.3, the latest version of its industry leading Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-aided inertial post-processing software for mobile mapping applications.

New functionality includes the ability to generate trajectories for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) processing, as well as the automatic import of POSTrack flight plans for improved SmartBase planning. The SmartBase database within POSPac MMS is also now automatically updated and a world map showing the current location of all available ground-based reference stations is displayed visually.

Applanix introduced RapidOrtho 2.0, a significant software enhancement for the Digital Sensor System (DSS). DSS RapidOrtho is a complete airborne digital imaging system for first responders and geospatial professionals who need to deliver rapid, highly-accurate ortho-rectified imagery without time-consuming and expensive ground surveys. The system is used for aerial surveying, rapid response for emergency mapping operations, change detection and more; it has even been adopted as a productivity tool for commercial mapping projects.

DM Solutions Group, a provider of web mapping products and solutions launched MapSherpa - an online service that allows users to design personalized high quality paper and printable maps of Canada.

The primary focus of MapSherpa is to enable Canadian outdoor recreation enthusiasts to create topographic maps that reflect the quality of maps only found in mass print production. MapSherpa’s cartographers have designed the base maps to be appropriate for use in the field by recreation enthusiasts such as hikers, canoeists, campers, skiers and geocachers.

DeLorme will demonstrate XMap GIS data synchronization features during the 2009 GITA Oil and Gas Conference, scheduled for Sept. 13-17 in Houston. Included in the XMap demonstration will be several new features tailor-made for mobile field forces involved in the maintenance of remote pipeline assets.

Rolta India Limited announced the launch of state-of-the-art solutions for Earth Science applications.

A new iPhone application, created by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab, enables users to track and report outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as H1N1 (swine flu), on the ground in real time. The application, "Outbreaks Near Me ," builds upon the mission and proven capability of HealthMap, an online resource that collects, filters, maps and disseminates information about emerging infectious diseases, and provides a new, contextualized view of a user's specific location - pinpointing outbreaks that have been reported in the vicinity of the user and offering the opportunity to search for additional outbreak information by location or disease.

Around the Web

New Flood Rules, With a Price Tag  by Joseph Berger, September 4, 2009, The New York Times (registration required)

Online system delivers near-real time GIS data to firefighters, by William Jackson, September 8, 2009, GCN


Events