Abstract
In December, 2011, Google announced that Google Maps would now be able to work
indoors. This was followed quickly by announcements from other major companies
in the industry that their systems would also soon be able to map and navigate
indoors.
The major players in mobile - Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Apple, RIM, Nokia,
Sony Ericsson & others - are actively developing new location technologies
that will work indoors. These technologies will revolutionize smartphone usage
by enabling mapping, navigation, local search, check-ins, location-sharing and
other location-based services to work indoors in malls, megastores, offices,
airports and other big indoor places. Indoor location will also transform
commerce, enabling searching for items on store shelves, sending deals &
promotions to nearby customers, advertisements for nearby stores, and more.
In this report, Grizzly Analytics answers the questions you have about this
new technology. What approaches are being researched by different companies?
Which companies have mature research, and which will need to acquire start-up
companies to fill in the gaps? Which start-up companies look promising? What
areas of technology are not yet addressed by start-ups, and remain open to new
entrepreneurs and investors?
Summary of Major Company Research Areas
| Company | Cellular & Wi-Fi
Signals | Movement
Tracking | Beacons | Other
Methods | Research
Maturity | Predicted
Acquisition Area |
| Google | √ | | | √ | High | Movement
tracking |
| Microsoft | √ | √ | | √ | High | |
| Qualcomm | √ | √ | | | High | Sensor
analysis |
| Nokia | √ | | √ | | High | Movement
analysis |
| Samsung | √ | √ | | √ | Medium | Wi-Fi analysis &
location database |
| Apple | √ | | | √ | High | |
| RIM | √ | √ | | √ | High | |
| Sony Ericsson | √ | | √ | √ | Low | |
Motorola
(Acquired by Google) | √ | √ | √ | √ | Mature but
not recent | |
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Summary of Major Company Research Areas
Grizzly Analytics Predictions for Indoor Positioning
Broader Commerce Implications of Indoor Positioning
Financial Market Implications
Table of Contents
The Need for Indoor Location Positioning
- Indoor Navigation
- Indoor Location Sharing
- Indoor Location-Based Promotions
Overview of Methods of Indoor Positioning
- Overview of Approaches to Indoor Positioning
- Location Positioning by Wi-Fi or Other Radio Signals
- Tracking Location by Sensors Detecting Movements
Early Research by Motorola
- Motorola's Early Research in Indoor Positioning
- Bluetooth-Based Indoor Positioning
- Using Wi-Fi Signals and other Mobile Device Signals
- Inertial Navigation
- Other Motorola Research
Research and Systems by Google
- Google Activity in Indoor Location Positioning
- Google Research in Indoor Positioning
- Google Funding Academic Research in Indoor Positioning
- Collecting Wi-Fi Locations and Using Them for Positioning
- Refining Location Positions by User Profiles
Research by Microsoft
- The Cricket Project
- The Radar Project
- Core Location Service Team
- Using Wireless Access Point Location Tables
- Tracking Movement Away from Known Locations
- Using Other Radio Signals to Determine Location
- Using Radio Beacons in a Building to Determine Location
Qualcomm Research in Indoor Positioning and Location Services
- Qualcomm's Work on Indoor Positioning and Services
- Qualcomm's View of Indoor Positioning
- Qualcomm Research in Wi-Fi Based Positioning
- Trajectory-Based Location Positioning
- Positioning in an Area with Walls and Furniture
- Research by Qualcomm: Indoor Navigation Services
- Research by Qualcomm: Indoor Location Services
Research and Demonstrations by Nokia
- Nokia's Long History of Research in Indoor Positioning
- Nokia Research Video of Indoor Positioning
- More Information Released in November 2011
- Nokia Research: Details from a 2009 Research Presentation
- Nokia's Patents on Indoor Positioning
- Nokia's Past Demos and Videos on Indoor Positioning
- Nokia's Ongoing Research
Samsung Research in Indoor Positioning
- Samsung Research in Indoor Positioning
- Tracking Motion from Initial Known Locations (Doors)
- Calibrating Motion Sensing for Indoor Positioning
- Beacons Transmitting Locations
- Combining Beacons and Movement Sensors
- Positioning by Communicating with Nearby Devices
- Location Positioning from Light Transmissions
Apple Research in Indoor Positioning
- Early Pre-Cellphone Patent for Beacon-Based Positioning
- Apple Research & Activity in Wi-Fi Network Location Logging
- Apple Research in Indoor Positioning by Radio Reception
RIM Research in Indoor Location Positioning
- Probabilistically Tracking Movement by Wi-Fi Signals
- Logging Network Locations for Use in Indoor Positioning
- Determining Location in Stages
- Reminders Based on Location Derived from Cell Tower Overlap
- Controlling Device Features Based on Indoor Location
Sony Ericsson Research in Indoor Positioning
- Sony Ericsson Research on Indoor Positioning
- Retransmitting GPS Signals Indoors
- Wireless Devices in Rooms in a Home
- Access Points to Transmit Details of Beacons
- Determining Position by Modulated Light
Other Major Companies Research in Indoor Positioning
- Research by Palm (now HP's WebOS)
- Research by Polaris and NTT DoCoMo
- Research by BMW for Cars in Parking Lots
- Research by Other Companies
- Other Patent Applications on Indoor Positioning
Start-up Companies and Research Projects
- Start-Up Companies and Apps from Research Projects
- SkyHook Wireless (USA)
- Qubulus (Sweden)
- GloPos (Finland)
- PointInside (USA)
- WLAN Tracker (Germany)
- SEER Technology (USA)
- FootPath (Germany)
- Roodin (Italy)
- Teldio (Canada)
- Locata (Australia)
- OmniSense (U.K.)
- BatPhone (USA)
