New technology from product development firm Cambridge Consultants can accurately detect someone’s location indoors when GPS drops out. A number of sensors and a custom algorithm determine the location, with an accuracy of within approximately 1 percent of the distance traveled.
The technology uses low-power, low-cost sensors and the device concept is small enough to clip on a belt. It also doesn’t need any existing internal infrastructure.
“We are excited about the many possibilities this cutting-edge technology opens up and the impact it can have in many different situations,” said Geoff Smithson, technology director, sensing systems, at Cambridge Consultants. “It could be used to help locate firefighters in smoke-filled buildings, for example, or to pinpoint the closest doctor in a hospital during an emergency — or to track offenders during home curfews. We are just starting to see the potential of this approach and the diverse demand for this type of low-energy, highly accurate system.”
Indoor tracking systems, which process data from one or more sources of location information to estimate where a person or object is located, are not new. But they often rely on RF signals from Wi-Fi access points or custom infrastructure, poor-quality GPS signals or expensive, high-quality sensors. The availability of low-cost smartphone components — including accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers and pressure sensors — has enabled a new generation of location devices and applications, when combined with a tailored Bayesian algorithm to fuse the information.
The new technology platform can be embedded in an existing design or operate as a stand-alone unit, with options to compute the location locally or transmit the information to a remote system that can process the data before visualizing it on a smartphone app.
“Our biggest challenges were developing an algorithm which optimally combines the data from GPS and the other sensors, and overcoming the issues of using such low-cost sensors in a system without any absolute location reference,” said Smithson.
Cambridge Consultants specializes in developing low-cost, low-power connected devices for clients with a team of experts with sensing, wireless and software engineering expertise. The latest technology builds on the company’s tracking and location systems experience in a variety of market sectors ranging from defense and security to consumer, industrial, and oil and gas.
Vuzix Corporation today announced that it has begun shipping M100 Smart Glasses to the first of its Gold developer partners — enabling them to start creating and testing their apps on the real hardware.
The M100 Smart Glasses are a smart hands-free display and communications device for mobile data access, once paired to a smartphone and connected to the Internet. The glasses include an integrated head tracker and GPS for spatial and positional awareness.
Vuzix is a supplier of Video Eyewear products in the consumer, commercial and entertainment markets.
Google Glass
The M100 is in competition — and a race to market — with Google Glass, a similar wearable device. Google recently held a contest to provide sample sets of the glasses to non-developers willing to pay $1,500 — which encouraged Internet and media buzz.
M100 Smart Glasses
Google Glass could be released to the mass market by the end of the year. Google Inc. already sold an unspecified number of the glasses to developers who also paid $1,500 apiece at a company conference in June 2012. The mass-market version of Google Glass is expected to cost less than $1,500, but more than a smartphone.
Like the M100, Google Glass is intended to perform many of the same tasks as smartphones. The glasses include a little display screen attached to a rim above the right eye, run on Google’s Android operating system, and respond to voice commands, which is intended to make it easier for people to take pictures or record video wherever they might be (such as skydiving or riding a rollercoaster). Here is a video showing the glasses in action:
When he demonstrated the glasses at last June’s company conference, Google co-founder Sergey Brin acknowledged the company was still working out bugs and trying to figure out how to extend the product’s battery life.
Privacy Concerns. The ease of taking pictures and recording video with the glasses is causing some to question whether privacy will be affected. zdnet blogger Ben Woods writes, “These glasses can instantly capture and store every move of everyone around the person wearing them. Remember that drunken argument you had with your partner? Well, now Google Glass will mean you have no possibility of forgetting it. If it’s entertaining enough, or you’re well-known enough, the video of that argument could well be on YouTube before you get home. Do you do a lot of business on the phone while out and about or while sitting in coffee shops? Will you continue to, if you know that every call could be recorded by the stranger sitting at the table opposite, staring innocently at the picture on the wall behind your head?”
Google first began developing the glasses in 2010 as part of a secretive company division now known as Google X.
How the M100 is worn.
Vuzix Showstopper. Displayed at Mobile World Congress in February as a “Showstopper,” the M100 contains a near-eye micro display with an integrated camera and powerful processor running an Android OS. It connects wirelessly to a user’s smartphone (iOS or Android) or other compatible device via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, can connect directly to the Internet, and run applications and games on its own. Working in harmony with a user’s smartphone, the M100 enables access to a vast array of existing and future text, video, GPS, and audio applications, Vuzix said.
With the glasses, users can answer the phone using a visual address book, record video and run applications, including basic augmented reality apps. Interactive tracking and an integrated camera, combined with newly developed applications on the M100 and a wireless link to the Cloud, enable the merging of virtual information with the real world. An integrated camera enables video recording, still image capture and the potential for powerful augmented reality applications.
Industry, Medical. “Although we are seeing applications developed in most every market, there has been a strong focus on the industrial and medical markets,” said Paul J. Travers, chief executive officer.
“Our Company has a focus on developing the fundamental tools that enable applications from training to warehousing,” said Pete Wassell, president of Augmate Corporation, one of the first M100 Gold developers. “This new category of device is going to revolutionize many markets by injecting cloud-connected, hands-free and geospatially accurate information to applications that desperately need it. The M100 does a great job of delivering on that promise.”
The Vuzix developer program offers early access to the M100 smart glasses, technical support and advice. The M100 software developers kit is available in two versions, Gold and Silver. These SDKs are being delivered in stages and include frequent updates, hardware advances when released, and access to the developer center to provide technical and developer community support.
Because the demand is strong, Vuzix is delivering the first smart glasses on a first-come, first-served basis with custom-built prototypes going exclusively to its Gold Developers.
A new technology to combat dozing off when driving is being developed by two universities with industry partner Ficosa. The drowsiness alerter, Somnoalert, is a smartphone application that uses inertial sensors and GPS data to detect movements that are characteristic of nodding off at the wheel, such as deviation from the driving lane or sudden corrections. A later prototype also incorporates biomedical sensors to analyze respiration data.
“One of the main causes of car accidents is drowsiness, especially on long highway trips,” explains Santiago. “Most monitoring systems developed in the last few years have been integrated systems that need to be connected to the car’s system. Our device combines our group’s expertise in sensors and biological data analysis with FICOSA’s vehicle know-how, and is completely portable.”
“Accidents related with drowsiness have a very high social and economical impact, that the key automotive industry players are facing as a whole, in order to reduce current accident statistics,” said Alan Montesi, who heads the project for FICOSA.
Pole Star has launched its new indoor location platform, NAO Cloud. NAO Cloud simplifies the deployment of indoor location solutions by introducing an automated deployment process that dramatically reduces time-to-market and the costs of indoor location-based services, Pole Star said.
NAO Cloud integrates the NAO Campus Software Deployment Kit (SDK), and enables customers and partners to deploy NAO Campus, Pole Star’s indoor location solution, in just a few hours, by using cloud-based software tools as well as positioning databases already available and shared by worldwide partner program members.
In addition, third parties will have access to NAO Cloud’s crowdsourcing capabilities, eliminating field interventions for a simpler, faster and more affordable deployment and maintenance process, Pole Star said. Behavioral analytics or geofencing are also supported by NAO Cloud to maximize the monetization of value added location-based services.
The NAO Cloud platform targets a wide range of businesses such as venue owners, advertising platform providers, application developers, global solution integrators or network operators. NAO Cloud makes deployment, integration in mobile apps and maintenance of indoor positioning services a simple process, from a single venue to a worldwide multi-site coverage, Pole Star said.
“The indoor location services market has reached maturity. Multi-venue owners, marketing agencies and major telcos understand the challenges and the value of hyper-local information and real-time interactions with customers and related Indoor Location Analytics. Indoor positioning is the core technology that brings high value,” said Christian Carle, CEO of Pole Star. “NAO Cloud is the result of years of innovation and deep market experience through very large and complex field deployments around the world.”
In 2012, Pole Star achieved several major innovation milestones, such as the integration of Bluetooth Low Energy and Inertial Sensors in its NAO Campus fusion engine, in addition to Map Data, Wi-Fi and GPS signals. The dynamic combination of these technologies provides today the best indoor location performance results in the market, while addressing any type of building and minimizing network infrastructure, deployment and maintenance costs, Pole Star said.
The NAO Campus solution is now available for more than 80% of the smartphone market, compliant with Android and iPhone devices and embedded in consumer applications on the Google Play Marketplace and the Apple App Store.
Today, Pole Star’s indoor location solutions have been deployed in more than 43 million square feet, in 15 countries such as airports (Paris Charles de Gaulle), shopping centers in Europe and North-America, museums and department stores. In 2011, Pole Star opened its North American headquarters in Palo Alto and has expanded its international presence in 2012, building deep partnerships with companies in Europe, North-America, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. Finally, at the end of 2012, in time for the holiday season, Pole Star launched, its “living lab” mobile application, Mall Buddy, that covers 9 of the biggest malls in Silicon Valley, from San Francisco to San Jose and demonstrates the worldwide extension capability of Indoor location services.
By Zainab Syed, Jacques Georgy, Abdelrahman Ali, Hsiu-Wen Chang, and Chris Goodall
Using a select set of components, a navigation software development kit can easily be configured to fit a variety of mobile and portable devices. Testing on several current devices demonstrates that the kit’s use of sensors already present in smartphones to enable entertainment can provide 3D positioning when satellite signals are degraded or absent, such as in urban canyons or in deep indoor environments. The solution also provides the heading of the user, the 3D orientation of the device, and the user’s velocity, without restriction on device usage.
Location-based services (LBS) have evolved to the point that a smartphone is considered incomplete if it does not have navigation functionality. In fact, basic navigation functionalities are no longer sufficient, because of the limited capabilities of traditional solutions. Traditional navigation techniques are usually based on the trilateration of GPS signals. Smartphones use Assisted GPS (AGPS) technology, which utilizes pre-knowledge about the satellite constellation to provide GPS-based positions in urban canyons and indoor environments, a capability once considered impossible. Because GPS signals cannot reach indoor environments, some companies have developed map databases to provide a positioning solution using available Wi-Fi signals. The concept is simple: to provide absolute positioning where GPS signals are too weak or are unavailable. However, such a solution requires continuous updates of ever-changing Wi-Fi hotspot maps, making this a costly system to manage. Nevertheless, it is an attractive option for positioning in the absence of GPS signals.
Because LBS demand reliability, continuity, and accuracy in all environments, as well as information about the headings of the device and user, many research groups and technology companies are working to achieve these goals by integrating the aforementioned positioning methods with pre-existing sensors in smartphones. Currently, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensors are used predominantly for entertainment applications in the phone. The orientation of the screen is sensed by the MEMS accelerometers, which switch the display orientation according to the user’s needs. Some applications use the accelerometers and magnetometer to provide an indoor navigation solution starting from a user-defined position, but only if the smartphone is kept in a fixed orientation — an unrealistic assumption. Other recent research works also include gyroscopes for navigation. In general, it has been found that embedded mobile-phone sensors are insufficient for reliable navigation purposes because of very high noise, large random drift rates, and also because it can be assumed that the mobile device is able to freely change orientation with respect to the moving platform (the human body while walking, or a vehicle while driving).
This article provides the results of using an efficient and high-rate navigation platform with low computational requirements for mobile devices. Known as the Trusted Portable Navigator (T-PN), it utilizes a smartphone’s existing MEMS sensors. Despite some of the challenges with MEMS, the T-PN can provide a real-time, continuous, and reliable navigation solution that works regardless of the motion pattern of the user. Example motion patterns include walking with the smartphone indoors or outdoors; driving in clear sky conditions, downtown, or through tunnels and underground parkades; or a combination of walking and driving in any environment.
The main challenge with low-cost MEMS sensors in smartphones is that they cannot be used without proper error modeling because of high noise characteristics and bias instabilities. Thus, the T-PN has innovative algorithms that autonomously develop custom error models, turning the available sensors into navigation-capable inertial sensors, without any restrictions on the user or any delay in the navigation solution.
Current consumer mobile devices can be used in a variety of ways; for example, while texting, on the ear, in pocket, dangling freely while handheld, and on a belt. The orientation of the phone changes significantly with each use case, which makes accurate sensor-based navigation very difficult to achieve if referenced to the user. The common practice in traditional inertial navigation is to attach and align the device to the moving body. However, it is unrealistic to ask a user to keep their phone in any specific orientation. To solve this problem, the T-PN calculates these orientation angles in real-time and uses them as corrections for the user’s attitude and position.
The ultimate demonstration of the T-PN’s capabilities is its real-time performance in smartphones and tablets. The tests described here were performed on the commercially-available Android and QNX operating systems in tablets and smartphones. The T-PN was packaged and built at the native level to ensure computational efficiency. Several devices were used in the real time testing, including: the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the Samsung Galaxy Note, the Samsung Galaxy S III, and the Blackberry Playbook. This device selection is an accurate sampling of the current mobile technologies available today.
Other manufacturers will have more of these devices running newer versions of Android and other operating systems. All of these devices include tri-axial gyroscopes, tri-axial accelerometers, tri-axial magnetometers, a barometer, and a GPS chipset with AGPS capabilities. All the devices used feature different brands of these low-cost sensors.
Sensor Calibration
The sensors need to be calibrated for two different types of errors to ensure a precise and accurate navigation solution. The first type of calibration is known as deterministic errors calibration, which includes the estimation of initial turn-on biases and scale factors of the sensors. For very high-cost systems these errors are usually negligible, but mobile phone-grade sensors show high variations from turn-on to turn-on.
The second type of calibration is more involved and labor-intensive, as it requires large static datasets. Allan variance curves are calculated to estimate the bias instability and random walk parameters. These parameters are called stochastic error model parameters and are necessary to obtain optimum results for longer periods of standalone navigation. They are also very important when attempting to design a consistent filter. For very low-cost sensors, these parameters may change from unit to sensor, and over time for the same sensor. This means that individual systems may demonstrate different performances with the exact same integration software.
The T-PN eliminates the need of any calibration, as it uses a patent-pending technique that automatically completes all the required calibration within 5–10 minutes of the navigation mission. The only requirement is the availability of a good GPS position, velocity, and timing (PVT) solution for at least 5–10 minutes. Starting from generic calibration parameters, artificial intelligence techniques quickly narrow down the search to the most optimum error-model parameters. This makes the T-PN suitable for navigation use with mobile phone-grade inertial sensors.
Changing Orientations
Changing orientations cannot be avoided for smartphone-based navigation. While navigating, users will take calls, text, and check their position; therefore it is impractical to request that the user keep the phone fixed to their body. The solution must be robust to provide navigation for these common use-case scenarios.
The T-PN uses patent-pending techniques to identify the changing orientations as they occur and adjust the user’s navigation solution accordingly. The result is a seamless and robust solution, with or without GPS.
Mode of Transit
Mobile phone navigation cannot be restricted to pedestrian-only or vehicle-only cases. The user will be carrying the device wherever they will go, which requires the navigation software to be adaptable for the user’s mode of transit.
Through a patent-pending technology, the user’s mode of transit is detected. Different modes may include walking, using the stairs, driving, riding an elevator, and static periods related to the above modes. Once the mode is detected, the appropriate algorithms and constraints are applied to ensure minimal navigation drift, even for long periods of standalone sensor navigation. There is no restriction on modes of transit or any requirement to perform a special task, making the T-PN user-friendly and efficient.
T-PN Overview
The T-PN is highly customizable software that converts any quality and grade of inertial sensors into a navigation-capable system. In other words, it can be used on any available smartphone operating system, such as Android. This navigation engine takes any available measurements and improves the navigation results by filtering the updates. GPS is the most common type of external update that provides absolute position and velocity information to the inertial engine and reduces time-related errors.
Wi-Fi is another absolute update for positioning in deep indoor scenarios, and is also accepted by the T-PN. Wi-Fi measurements are noisy, but the T-PN integrated solution smooths the noise and closely represents the user’s actual position. Wi-Fi updates are optional for T-PN, but they will enhance the solution if long periods of indoor navigation are desired.
Physical movements of the user, such as pedestrian dead reckoning, zero-velocity updates, and non-holonomic conditions are used as constraints to improve the navigation solution.
The constraints are also tailored to the user’s mode of transit to ensure the most robust solution for the user. Mode of transit is automatically detected on a continuous basis.
If additional sensors such as magnetometers and barometers are present and properly calibrated by the T-PN software, their readings can be used as optional updates. Figure 1 shows a complete flowchart of the algorithm for the T-PN. The dashed lines show the optional updates for the T-PN.
Figure 1. The T-PN algorithm flowchart.
Hardware Description and Use Cases
The test platforms used are smartphones and tablets running different versions of Android and QNX. The opening picture shows some of these units, listed here with their operating systems.
A variety of use cases, listed in Table 1, are currently supported in the T-PN.
Table 1. Current supported use cases.
Results
The results are divided into three sections:
the results for consumer navigation and their respective LBS applications;
tracking applications for personnel on-foot and in-vehicle;
and driving with or without GPS with the device left on the seat or holder with or without a connection to the on-board diagnostic system (OBDII) of the vehicle.
Consumer Navigation, LBS App. This is a very typical use case. It involves the user starting the navigation after parking his/her vehicle to locate a certain destination in an indoor environment; for example, a specific store in a shopping center or an office inside a building. As the user heads deep indoors, GPS will stop providing any useful positioning information, as illustrated in Figure 2 (blue line). The user started the navigation in texting portrait mode, then held the phone in hand for some time and let it dangle naturally, and then finally puts the phone in his or her pocket. The trajectory in red is the T-PN solution and the blue line shows the available GPS solution. The Samsung Galaxy S III was used in this trajectory, with a maximum error of less than 7 meters for 2 minutes of deep indoor navigation.
Figure 2. GPS positioning solution in blue is given with T-PN solution in red for a typical outdoor/indoor environment using Samsung Galaxy S III.
Figure 3 shows a trajectory collected and processed on an S III with GPS signals (including multipath) in blue provided with the T-PN solution in red. During the navigation, the user was making a phone call with the phone on the ear. The maximum error stayed within 17 meters for 5 minutes of indoor navigation with severe multipath in GPS signals. It has to be noted that the heading solution would have converged better if the user walked outdoor for an adequate time, but here the user went straight indoors a few seconds after starting.
Figure 3. GPS positioning solution in blue is given with T-PN solution in red for a typical indoor environment with multipathed GPS signals using T-PN on a Samsung Galaxy S III.
The trajectory in Figure 4 was collected and processed on a Samsung Galaxy Note. The user was holding the Note in texting portrait mode in Shanghai’s downtown core. When the user entered the building, GPS positioning information became unavailable, and the only positioning information available was from T-PN (as shown by the red line in Figure 4). The maximum error after approximately 2 minutes of indoor trajectory was less than 6m.
Figure 4. Trajectory collected and processed on a Samsung Galaxy Note in downtown Shanghai China. Red line is the T-PN solution while the blue is GPS solution.
Figure 5 shows a pure indoor trajectory without GPS, collected and processed on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The user walked in a loop for 4 minutes and then returned back to the same location. The maximum error stayed within 13 meters, even with the phone changing orientation with respect to the user. This trajectory was collected at Computex 2012 conference in Taipei.
Figure 5. Pure indoor trajectory collected and processed on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone with different user orientation of the phone.
Tracking Applications. Another usage of T-PN can be related to tracking of personnel such as firefighters. In this case, the tracking device will be attached to the users for a high-accuracy solution. To show the performance, a Samsung Galaxy Nexus was tethered to the user in a chest mount strap. The user took a trajectory that started outdoors and then went indoors for over 9 minutes, covering multiple floors and taking elevators and stairs to access the different floors. At the end of the trajectory, the error was less than 6 meters, or 1.5 percent of the distance traveled. Figure 6 shows the results, with the red line showing the T-PN solution and the blue line showing the GPS solution.
Figure 6. Samsung Galaxy Nexus running T-PN in real time for tracking application.
Figure 7 shows the result of the tethered chest-mount system that was connected wirelessly with a vehicle’s OBDII while inside that vehicle. The vehicle entered an underground parkade with no GPS availability and completed two full loops inside the parkade before exiting.
Figure 7. Samsung Galaxy S III running T-PN in real time for tracking application of the personnel inside a vehicle with OBDII.
Consumer Vehicle Navigation. The results of using the T-PN platform on a Blackberry Playbook in real time in the downtown Toronto Eaton Centre parkade appear in Figure 8. The Playbook was left untethered on a seat during the navigation. The T-PN was able to bridge the complete loss of GPS signals (blue line) in the multi-level parkade, and to effectively filter the multipath in the GPS signals in the Toronto downtown core.
Figure 8. T-PN platform running on a Blackberry Playbook in red is provided against the GPS solution in blue.
The next set of results are for a changing misalignment case within the trajectory. In this case, T-PN was running on a Samsung Galaxy S III and evaluated in Calgary’s downtown core. The GPS signals were erroneous due to multipath (as shown by the blue lines in Figure 9), while the T-PN solution was able to provide a proper trajectory, including an almost perfect figure-eight.
For the final sets of results, a Samsung Galaxy S III was placed (untethered) on a seat in a vehicle with a wireless connection to the vehicle’s OBDII. Despite the misalignment, the T-PN showed the three loops in the parkade almost perfectly, as shown in Figure 10.
Figure 9. Downtown Calgary trajectory collected and processed on a Samsung Galaxy S III with changing misalignments in a gooseneck cradle. T-PN solution is in red and the GPS is provided in blue.Figure 10. Underground parkade trajectory with wireless OBDII connection on a Samsung Galaxy S III running T-PN software. T-PN solution is in red and the GPS is provided in blue.
Conclusion
Today, mobile phones are used as navigation devices. GPS often fails to provide an accurate positioning solution in urban canyons and deep indoor environments because GPS is either not available in these environments or will provide erroneous positions because of multipath.
The T-PN provides accurate positioning everywhere by converting the pre-existing inertial sensors of mobile devices (such as tablets and smartphones) into navigators. The results were provided for walking and driving cases where GPS positioning information was unreliable or unavailable. In all these cases, the T-PN solution was able to successfully provide enhanced navigation solution of the user.
Acknowledgment
This article is based on a paper first presented at ION GNSS 2012, September 2012, Nashville, Tennessee.
Zainab Syed is a co-founder/VP engineering at Trusted Positioning Inc. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Calgary. She has 6 patents pending and more than 50 publications on integrated navigation systems.
Jacques Georgy is the VP of R&D and a co-founder of Trusted Positioning Inc. He received his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Queen’s University, Canada. He has 10 filed patents, written a book, and more than 40 papers.
Abdelrahman Ali is an algorithms designer at Trusted Positioning Inc. He is also a member of the Mobile Multi-Sensor Systems Research Group at the Department of Geomatics Engineering in University of Calgary where he is completing his Ph.D.
Hsiu-Wen Chang is an algorithms designer at Trusted Positioning Inc. She is also a member of the Mobile Multi-Sensor Systems Research Group at the Department of Geomatics Engineering in University of Calgary where she is completing her Ph.D.
Chris Goodall is the CEO/co-founder of Trusted Positioning Inc. Chris has been working in developing, deploying, and evangelizing multi-sensor navigation systems for more than 8 years. He has more than 40 publications and seven patent applications.
Huawei, a global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, unveiled a series of products heralding the company’s first foray into telematics solutions at the 2013 Mobile World Congress, being held this week in Barcelona, Spain.
Huawei showcased its vehicle-compatible 3G and LTE communication modules, MU609T and ME909T, its 3G mobile hotspot, DA6810, and its 3G onboard diagnostic (OBD) box, DA3100. Huawei’s products for vehicles provide stable wireless solutions in diverse environments regardless of weather conditions, terrain, or reliability of power supply, providing new development opportunities for the automotive industry, and unsurpassed convenience for car owners.
“Huawei is excited to welcome in an era of smart vehicles with the availability of products that integrate wireless communications and automotive electronic technologies,” said Kevin Liu, vice president, Mobile Broadband Division, Huawei Consumer Business Group. “Huawei’s telematic solutions are designed to enable cars and other transportation vehicles to exist in a seamless wireless mobile environment, so that users are truly able to enjoy the benefits brought about by ICT services.”
The MU609T and ME909T are Huawei’s first 3G and LTE communication modules for vehicles. They are both pin-to-pin compatible, and cater specifically to the working enviroment temperature and power consumption of the automotive industry. The MU609T can support up to 14.4M under the HSPA+ network, and the ME909T can support up to 100Mbps under the LTE network. Both modules are pre-installed with GPS and eCall. In addition, the FOTA remote firmwire upgrade capability makes it possible to integrate new technologies into existing MU609T and ME909T modules. The strengths of MU609T and ME909T have been recognized by leading global car manufacturers, and will be integrated into the wireless communication systems of some of the world’s top vehicles in the near future, the company said.
The DA6810 3G Wi-Fi Box creates 3G Wi-Fi hotspots in mobile environments to provide high-speed internet connectivity on-the-go. Once installed with the HUAWEI DA6810 3G Wi-Fi Box, a vehicle becomes interactive, high-tech and networked, providing owners with a high-speed internet and audio-visual entertainment experience, Huawei said.
The DA3100 is an on-board diagnistics (OBD) data transferring system that enables insurance providers and fleet management companies to retrieve information such as location, vehicle conditions and driver habits. This in-car system transfers information in real time through a 3G network to the telematics service provider (TSP) platforms of various third-party entities. It also enables vehicle owners to activate the car horn, headlights and windows remotely via smartphone apps. The DA3100 is powerful yet easy to install, is not limited by geographical region or vehicles types, and can be activated upon installation, Huawei said.
Magellan has announced Magellan SmartGPS Apps for iOS and Android mobile devices.
Following the recent announcement of Magellan’s SmartGPS device, the free Magellan SmartGPS Apps for iOS and Android devices are the next key elements in Magellan’s Smart Ecosystem, a cloud platform that integrates social media and navigation content directly onto a navigation map, the company said. The SmartGPS Apps automatically deliver continually updating reviews and tips for local businesses from social media including Yelp, Foursquare, and other partners to create current, local and personalized driving and pedestrian experiences.
The Magellan SmartGPS mobile apps display location-relevant information “squares” that graphically flip to show reviews, tips and offers from Yelp and Foursquare for nearby restaurants, stores and services. Users can then navigate to those locations directly from the SmartGPS App without needing to open an additional application or device. The cloud architecture enables new monetization of end users’ mobile search and navigation, and additional social media and content partners.
“We architected the Smart Ecosystem to integrate with automotive infotainment and mobile network service platforms so users can enjoy a truly mobile, connected car experience now,” said Peggy Fong, president of MiTAC Digital Corporation. “SmartGPS mobile apps connect to the vehicle dash, allowing users to easily search social media and points-of-interest for destinations, and send the locations via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to SmartGPS-enabled vehicle navigation systems.”
Magellan’s free iOS and Android SmartGPS apps create a total-solution SmartGPS experience that is truly mobile. Magellan connects the smartphone to the vehicle dashboard, enabling location sync and sharing, hands-free operation and data connectivity. Users can pair their Magellan SmartGPS app with SmartGPS-enabled navigation systems. Using their SmartGPS App, SmartGPS enabled navigation system, or PC, users can search for a location, save the location in Magellan’s Smart Ecosystem cloud, and sync and share the location to any SmartGPS enabled device via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
The free Magellan SmartGPS Apps will be available in North America this Spring, and in Europe this Summer, from iTunes and Google Play. Premium versions of both apps featuring spoken turn-by-turn navigation will also be available.
Broadcom Corporation introduced at the Mobile World Congress a highly integrated digital baseband processor and RF transceiver designed for 3G femtocell residential access points, the BCM61630 systems on chip. The Mobile World Congress is being held in Barcelona, Spain, this week.
The new devices integrate a multiband CMOS RF transceiver with GPS and full-time sniffing capability while maintaining software compatibility with all previous Broadcom WCDMA physical layer and backhauling interface architectures.
With the new chips, mobile operator OEMs and ODMs have a powerful, low-cost, power efficient device to support small cell strategies and meet growing mobile traffic demands. Embedding a high-speed CPU and Broadcom’s Layer 1 modem and peripherals, these devices provide a complete low-power single-chip solution for residential and small enterprise 3G small cell deployments, the company said.
“As on-the-go content consumption continues to drive traffic growth, mobile operators must meet consumers’ increasing demand for higher bandwidth without sacrificing quality of service,” said Greg Fischer, Broadcom’s vice president and general manager for Broadband Carrier Access. “Broadcom’s BCM61630 SoCs deliver a low-power, cost-efficient device for residential small cells to leverage existing mobile infrastructure and deliver faster data speeds through a smaller form factor.”
SIMCom Wireless Solutions Ltd. of Shanghai launched its first compact LGA 2G module SIM900E at Mobile World Congress 2013 today. The module’s small size and LGA encapsulation suit M2M applications of all sizes, especially satisfying requirements for slim, compact design, SIMcom said. The Mobile World Congress is being held in Barcelona, Spain, this week.
With operations from 2002 to 2013, SIMCom has just celebrated its 10th anniversary. The company has developed into a global leader of wireless solutions with the integration of R&D, production, sales and after-sales services, and with products covering technologies such as GPS, GLONASS, GSM/GPRS, WCDMA/HSPA, TD-SCDMA, CDMA EVDO, SRD, and Wi-Fi. The products have been sold in more than 100 countries and regions, involving almost all M2M industries. With the celebration of its 10th anniversary, SIMCom also launched its first company magazine, SIMCom Inside.
SIMCom launched its module series of 2G/3G, with the same size of 30 x 30 millimeters, including SIM928, SIM968, SIM5310 and more. Integrated with GSM/GPRS and GPS, the SIM928 module is a compact quad-Band GSM/GPRS-enabled module based on the PNX4851 platform. SIM968 is a combo module featuring quad-band GSM/GPRS and combining GLONASS technology for satellite navigation. SIM5310 is a low-cost 3G module that supports WCDMA 384Kbps and single frequency band 2100 MHz. In addition, SIMCom will also introduce the first LTE intelligent module SIM7290.
The compact module SIM900E released today has an LGA encapsulation of 19.8 x 19.8 x 2.7 millimeters, and its LGA encapsulation is suitable for automatic assembly with SMT equipment, the company said. The configuration of four frequencies of GSM/GPRS — 850/900/1800/1900MHz — and wide temperature range of -40C to +85C is designed for global seamless coverage and various industrial application environments.
Ruckus Wireless, Inc. today outlined its SmartCell architecture for creating carrier class Wi-Fi networks to deal with the densification challenge sweeping the industry. Built on its SmartCell Architecture, Ruckus unveiled a wide range of new carrier-class Smart Wi-Fi products, including the Ruckus ZoneFlex 7782 family, which integrates a GPS receiver. The announcement came at the Mobile World Congress being held in Barcelona, Spain, this week.
The rapid growth of mobile data services, driven by smartphones, laptops, and tablets has accelerated data-traffic growth to the point where macro cellular networks are no longer sufficient to meet subscriber demand in many high-density indoor and outdoor settings. While new macro cellular technology, such as long-term evolution (LTE), is being introduced to address this capacity crunch, it will provide only partial relief, as traffic volumes continue to grow faster than operators can economically add capacity, Ruckus said.
Consequently, mobile operators are rapidly adopting Wi-Fi as an additional radio access network (RAN) option to augment mobile capacity. At the same time, fixed line carriers and multiple system operators (MSOs) are also deploying Wi-Fi for public access to enhance their service offerings, reduce subscriber churn and enter new markets such as managed enterprise wireless LAN (WLAN) services.
For high-capacity outdoor environments, such as stadiums and other public venues, the Ruckus ZoneFlex 7782 outdoor AP Series is a family of four new, high-capacity Wi-Fi access points designed to give service providers unprecedented capacity and performance. With models supporting omni-directional antennas, 120º sectorized, and 30×30º narrow-beam coverage through integrated internal antennas as well as external antenna options, ZoneFlex 7782 APs offer a combination of high performance and flexibility in a sleek, low profile, light form factor essential for meeting the tight mechanical and aesthetic constraints of deployment outdoors, Ruckus said.
Each Ruckus ZoneFlex 7982 AP is a dual-band, three stream (3×3:3) 802.11n access point enabled for high throughput approaching 900 Mbps. ZoneFlex 7782 APs with integrated antennas support Ruckus-patented BeamFlex adaptive antenna technology for greater signal gain and interference mitigation. Additionally, the Ruckus ZoneFlex 7782 family integrates a GPS receiver, allowing service providers to begin providing location-based services as well as continuous spectrum monitoring features.
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., has announced the industry’s first 4G LTE Advanced embedded data connectivity platform for mobile computing devices, including thin form factor laptops, tablets and convertibles. The technology, based on Qualcomm Technologies’ Gobi chipsets — the MDM9225 and MDM9625 — is the first embedded, mobile computing solution to support LTE carrier aggregation and LTE Category 4 with peak data rates of up to 150Mbps. The announcement came at the Mobile World Congress being held in Barcelona, Spain, this week.
The Gobi MDM9x25 embedded platform includes an embedded GPS receiver with GLONASS support for enhanced asset tracking, turn-by-turn navigation and other location-based services.
The introduction marks the arrival of Qualcomm Technologies’ third-generation 4G LTE embedded chip, extends Qualcomm Technologies’ modem technology leadership in mobile computing, and promises to deliver the fastest 3G and 4G LTE connections worldwide, while offering the broadest multi-region coverage via a single SKU solution, the company said. PC OEM customers can select from embedded module vendors that support a range of Gobi chipsets, from 3G solutions with speeds up to 42Mbps to cutting-edge 4G LTE Advanced. Coupled with pay-as-you-go, no contract data plans, these products enable thinner, lighter and better connected mobile computing devices running leading operating systems such as iOS, Android, Windows 8 and Windows RT, and support a variety of modules for thin form factors, including PCI Express Mini Card, PCI Express M.2, and Land Grid Array. Additionally, the Qualcomm RF360 Front End solution, providing expanded active band support integral to Qualcomm Technologies’ single SKU LTE World Mode solution will also be included.
“Our broad portfolio of Gobi chipsets — including 3G 42Mbps, 4G LTE and 4G LTE Advanced — features industry-leading LTE multiband support for seamless connections to the fastest networks worldwide,” said Cristiano Amon, executive vice president of Qualcomm Technologies and co-president of Qualcomm Mobile Computing. “This latest addition can be easily implemented across enterprise, SMB and consumer industries allowing end users to download and stream rich HD content, access enterprise applications, share large files quickly and connect virtually wherever they are in the world.”
Qualcomm Gobi MDM9x25 chipsets began sampling to module vendors last November and will enable commercial device launches in the second half of this calendar year.
ALK Technologies, provider of navigation and GeoLogistics software, announced at the Mobile World Congress that its CoPilot GPS navigation apps for smartphones and tablets will be available for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. The Mobile World Congress is being held in Barcelona, Spain, this week.
Designed as an alternative to traditional in-vehicle systems, the app provides voice-guided GPS navigation, with turn-by-turn guidance, comprehensive trip planning and automotive-grade street maps stored on-board the device for offline use. Integral real-time services include ActiveTraffic, Yelp, Wikipedia and Google Search to keep drivers fully informed on the road.
“We’ve always been fans of Microsoft’s mobile solutions,” said David Quin, head of consumer applications at ALK Technologies. “CoPilot was originally developed for Microsoft’s Pocket PC and pioneered mobile navigation on Windows Mobile, so we are delighted to announce a new app for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. The Windows family of mobile devices is rapidly gaining momentum as an alternative to Android and iOS, and provides an ideal platform for us to deliver a full-featured and driver friendly CoPilot navigation experience.”
“Windows Phone is backed by a vibrant app ecosystem with a variety of quality titles, like CoPilot, which help people enjoy a smartphone that is uniquely theirs,” said Todd Brix, general manager, Windows Phone Apps, Microsoft Corp. “CoPilot is a great example of the rich applications that people can enjoy on their Windows Phones.”
CoPilot for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 provides a suite of advanced navigation features, including:
Clear, non-distracting 3D map views with lane arrows and signpost display.
ActiveTraffic, which calculates the fastest routes and accurate arrival times based on live traffic flow information.
CoPilot ClearTurn for navigating complex junctions.
On-screen speed limit indicator and excess speed warnings.
Advanced trip planning with a choice of three routes and drag-and-drop route editing.
Comprehensive local search with integrated Yelp, Wikipedia and Google.
Global map regions available to purchase and store on the device as required.
CoPilot is expected to launch on the Windows Phone Store and Windows Store in summer 2013 with the following versions: CoPilot Premium, a paid app which includes turn-by-turn navigation and 12 months ActiveTraffic; CoPilot GPS, a free offline trip-planning and maps app with in-app purchase for turn-by turn navigation; and CoPilot Truck for truck-specific GPS navigation. Pricing will be in-line with existing CoPilot apps for iOS and Android.
The technology uses low-power, low-cost sensors and the device concept is small enough to clip on a belt. It also doesn’t need any existing internal infrastructure.
The new technology platform can be embedded in an existing design or operate as a stand-alone unit, with options to compute the location locally or transmit the information to a remote system that can process the data before visualizing it on a smartphone app.
