GPS World - January 2008 - (Page 61)

Utilities & Communications | BUSINESS OUTLOOK Working Indoor Up and Down E ven here in Los Angeles, as we get to the winter months, we spend more time indoors. Our cell phone usage echoes our lives, and as our indoor mobile usage increases, some of our thoughts can’t help but turn to location, which is indoor-challenged. As the savvy know, voice signals provide stronger indoor signals than GPS. I was intrigued to hear about an interesting little company called WirelessWERX that has developed a new approach to solve the indoor location challenge through use of Bluetooth. The premise of their SiteWERX concept is that a Bluetooth-equipped phone, or other device, will communicate with A major advantage of SiteWERX is that it provides the elusive z-axis: altitude. With current E911 location technologies, a geocode provides no clue as to which floor of the building contains the emergency; every floor of a 30-story hotel contains an identical geocode. Patrick Mooney, general manager of WirelessWERX, points out that within a large one-story building like a convention hall or a stadium, a geocode provides emergency responders with little practical information. The advantage of the location tag is that it can include a room number, cubicle number, or any specific site identifier. The tags have a range of 1 to 15 meters and can be adjusted by turning down the THE FCC HAS SIGNALED CONCERNS that location accuracy compliance requirements do not include enough indoor test points. The agency is expected to institute a stricter standard COMMUNICATIONS PULSE that carriers will be hard-pressed to meet with Janice Partyka with current location technology. The premise of the new SiteWERX concept is that a Bluetooth-equipped phone, or other device, will communicate with Bluetooth location tags, small modules that are installed within buildings and leech onto available power sources, such as smoke detectors or exit signs. The SiteWERX software is downloaded onto commercially available devices, such as cellular phones, PDAs, or laptops. A major advantage of SiteWERX is that it provides the elusive z-axis: altitude. With current E911 location technologies, a geocode provides no clue as to which floor of the building contains the emergency; every floor of a 30-story hotel contains an identical geocode. The SiteWERX location tag can include a room number, cubicle number, or any specific site identifier. JANICE PARTYKA writes the monthly UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS PULSE e-mail newsletter. Subscriptions are available free at www.gpsworld.com. This article presents her most recent column. Bluetooth location tags, small modules that are installed within buildings and leech onto available power sources, such as smoke detectors or exit signs. The SiteWERX software is downloaded onto commercially available devices, such as cellular phones, PDAs, or laptops. www.gpsworld.com power, a feature that would be useful if more than one tag is located in the same room. The phone, or other device being used, contains the algorithm that will pick the appropriate location tag in the event that signals are received from more than one tag. In some cases the correct tag would not be the closest one, as that tag may be on a different floor altogether. How well does it work? WirelessWERX and an engineering department at Texas A&M recently conducted a series of tests in an 80,000-square-foot building. When the tags were optimally placed in a room, the handset located the tag in 93 percent of the tests. When the handset was able to locate a tag, accuracy was within 10 meters 98 percent of the time. Also, when the tag was located, 96 percent of the time the handset located the correct floor, and 86 percent of the time, the correct room. Admittedly, my knowledge of Bluetooth is fairly limited, but I do know that there are compatibility issues between many Bluetooth handsets and headsets, and I wondered whether this poses a problem in this case. Mooney explained that SiteWERX connects within a different level of Bluetooth, one fundamental to almost all handsets, even the oldest legacy versions. SiteWERX could serve as an adjunct to AGPS or TDOA core location solutions. The FCC has signaled concerns that location accuracy compliance requirements do not include enough indoor test points. The agency is expected to institute a stricter standard that carriers will be hard-pressed to meet with current location technology. Even pushing the E911 regulatory issue aside, subscribers will expect their location-enabled apps to work as well indoors as out. SiteWERX is positioned to address the campus VoIP systems and large buildings and complexes such as malls, convention centers, amusement parks, hotels, dormitories, and large offices. There also may be some commercial push applications to reach shoppers in covered retail centers. Certainly, questions remain: Who would pay for the tags? How many tags would be required? How much would they cost? Even with these critical questions still unanswered, I think SiteWERX is worth a look. January 2008 | GPS World 61 http://www.gpsworld.com http://www.gpsworld.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of GPS World - January 2008

GPS - January 2008 Contents Out in Front Expert Advice The Money-Go-Round u-Nav Latest Acquisition Apples to Apples Global SBAS 2008 GPS Receiver Survey Advertisers Index & Company Directory The Manufacturer's Road Year of the Who Working Indoor Up and Down Good, Better, Best Marketplace Classifieds Seen + Heard

GPS World - January 2008

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