Now that the CES hangovers are passed it’s time to point out one of the most exciting trends in the geolocation industry that I see. That is the movement of further “RF enabling” the GPS device. Historically GPS devices have been limited in their capability to receive signals other than from GPS satellites.
But the past couple of years saw basic adoption of FM transmissions to the devices but only for traffic reports. Garmin, Magellan, TomTom all had rudimentary FM provided traffic update capabilities for drive-time users but the capability was nothing like what’s progressing now. Dash Navigation is ahead of the pack by concentrating on the high value services that the Internet connected GPS device can offer. That means providing Wi-Fi and Cellular capabilities to the device. This allows them to provide continuously updated location specific data for the user but also allows the end user to search Yahoo Local (for example) for location relevant data instead of a static database of entries loaded by the manufacturer. Check http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/dash-gps-priced-at-599/dash-express-video-and-deets-internet-connected-gps-for-599-334322.php. By 2009 I’m sure you’ll see all the major manufacturers going this direction with their units with Magellan is already starting. And of course don’t get me started on how compelling Garmin’s nuvifone is: http://garmin.blogs.com/my_weblog/2008/02/phone-scoop-pos.html.
So why do we love this? Because ZuluTime is all about making the wireless network location aware. The wireless networks that feed the Dash and like devices can have positioning inherently built in and further extend the positioning reach of these devices. Remember, GPS is Global, but it’s not Ubiquitous. GPS devices all have performance limitations which typically occur in the urban core and indoors due to the weak transmitted signal power. With Wi-Fi, Cellular, WiMAX or other connection capabilities to the device, ZuluTime provides the robust, precise location data when GPS drops out. This is entirely transparent to the end user. The end user cares about only one thing: Where are they on the map and what is the relevant contextual data to their location. They don’t care how the device determines its location. The seamless transition back and forth of using GPS signals and the ZuluTime enabled Wi-Fi or Cell signals happens under the covers of the device. This can be simply augmenting the GPS signals in clear line of sight or entirely filling in when the GPS signals completely drop out.
As you can see, we are quite excited about this trend.
ZuluTime excels in providing continuous location information on wireless networks whether you're in urban canyons, indoors or on the move. 
Comments (2)
I map out the offices that I want to visit during the week and use my GPS Navigation system to effeciently get me them, thus saving me time and money on gas. Sometimes when I go into a major city, my GPS unit isn’t as accurate as I would like it to be and so could your technology be of use in making driving directions even more precise where I’m surrounded by tall buildings?
Posted by Brian Robison | February 29, 2008 1:21 PM
Posted on February 29, 2008 13:21
I wish my new TomTom GPS had wireless networking capability but it is definitely encouraging to see the convergence of wireless technology on GPS terminals and the adoption of GPS on other mobile devices. But to make them all work seamlessly across platforms and applications will be the true test for the growing users like myself and an expected 600 millions others of us that will be doing mobile social networking over the next 4 years. So a location technology that can work across the existing and emerging mobile infrastructure and devices and can work indoors and outdoors sees a bit too good to be true — does this mean that the ZuluTime technology has to be first adopted by various standards committees before it becomes a reality? How do you plan to get it adopted?
Posted by msj | March 7, 2008 3:39 PM
Posted on March 7, 2008 15:39