Note – that I said “devices.” This means the positioning network soon can be done with Wi-Fi devices as simple as Wi-Fi enabled cameras, headphones, printers (think sensor networks) all the way to enterprise access points. The reason this is so intriguing to us from a functionality side is that no longer does the enterprise user have to depend on access point infrastructure to drive the positioning network. Instead the user can use the existing devices within the network to derive the positioning. A host of implementation options exist on how this deploys. Many users will want a minimum number of access points in the network which is fine.

From a technology side this is very exciting to us since, ultimately being timing guys, we can drive off the shelf Wi-Fi devices to such precise performance – remember that all real-time navigation is based on timing and the more precise the timing synchronization within your positioning network is the more accurate your location is. There are other methods of getting to this accuracy over Wi-Fi of course, RSSI is one of them. However they aren’t for dynamic environments and are not scalable. Our software is focused on providing these wireless networks with secure, scalable and reliable geolocation with high accuracy. Being agnostic to frequency and architecture the same principles here apply to cellular and first responder radio as well.

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.

This cross radio functionality is relevant to ZuluTime in that our technology hops along seamlessly as well. Because ZuluTime data is “sprinkled” throughout the network and rides along with the existing data, a Wi-Fi/WiMAX multi-mode device can use the positioning data from both sides, intermingle the data and ultimately arrive at a more robust, precise positioning. The capability also allows the device to have full positioning utility when one of the networks is not available.

Adjacent to this is the exciting possibility of a mobile WiMAX laptop or in-dash WiMAX being an actual server to Wi-Fi connected devices in the same car: http://www.dailywireless.org/2008/02/12/mobile-wimax-at-world-congress/. This is compelling to us at ZuluTime because it means these Wi-Fi devices could be providing ZuluTime positioning data back into the WiMAX network just as easily as they receive it. ZuluTime is unique in that it isn’t an infrastructure-only capability. All devices in the network can provide data back into the network which adds to the robustness of the network positioning resolution. The flip side is that devices certainly don’t have to provide data back in – they can be entirely silent.

Whether it’s chipset handovers or in-car cross platform services we few these developments as very positive to the growing importance of location aware networks.

He had recently watch the Blade Runner with his son and afterwards asked his son if anything was striking about the movie that was made in 1982 about Los Angeles in 2019. His son replied he noticed there were no cell phones in 2019. With all the brilliant forecasting Ridley Scott did about this bleak future of the human race (flying cars!), he didn’t forecast the reality of the “connected” future. This is quite alright but the discussion we had took an interesting turn when we talked about the prevalence of wireless networks today, and how it’s difficult to be truly disconnected unless you try. Further, soon in our future it will be very difficult to be lost. In other words location awareness will be, if not built into the fabric of many of our daily lives, so readily available particularly in urban areas there will be no excuse for “sorry I’m late I got lost.” We know the enterprise and especially hospitals have been moving this direction for the past few years. Talk to any CTO of a hospital of any size and they will probably tell you that location will be built into most of their environments and applications over the next five years.

It’s no surprise Ridley didn’t forecast location pervasiveness for his futuristic L.A. If he did that then Deckard never would have had any problem tracking and finding his replicants now would he?

Metcalfe was actually talking about telecommunication networks and obviously thinking in a “wired” sense. However, cutting those wires and turning those networks into wireless networks only adds value to a once physically constrained system. But now add mobility. The mobile wireless network has enormous value over static networks and is illustrated in the killer app of telecom in the 90’s: Cellular. The final piece though enhances that value even further. That piece is the addition of location awareness to the network. The location aware mobile wireless network is not one that simply tells the user where they are at any point in time but provides a host of capabilities not leveraged now. This kind of network can provide next generation diagnostic data for RF network managers providing key data not only on where in the network the problem is but definitive characterizations of the signaling problem. It can provide Mobile Resource Management (MRM) location data for all assets within the network continuously from inside the factory to entirely across town. Through automotive telematics it can safely guide automobiles through the urban core precisely where GPS has reliability issues. It is a technology we have worked hard to develop and we look forward to working with our partners in the coming months, quarters and years to deploy across WiFi, WiMAX, digital ad hoc radio, cellular and other networks.

In the past three years that we have been developing our location-aware network technology we have witnessed not only Google Maps and Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/) transform the geoaware landscape but we have seen the robust adoption of GPS devices throughout the consumer, prosumer and professional markets. The GPS device market in the US was more than a $10 billion last year. Compounding this is the rapid expansion of wireless networks across metro regions and across the enterprise such as factories, warehouses and hospitals. The intersection of location aware applications with wireless networks is something we feel can transform businesses and the way we work and live. Therein lies what we see as the Law of the Location Aware Mobile Wireless Network. Quantifying that value is what I will be exploring in future posts.