Apple’s IMDF Recognized as Global Community Standard
The Move Brings GPS-level Functionality and User Experience Indoors
Apple’s Indoor Mapping Data Format (IMDF) was approved last week by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) as a global community standard, the company said.
IMDF allows companies to offer fully-customized indoor maps of worldwide venues, which include stadiums, airports and school campuses, Apple said. OGC said the standard makes it possible any company to create indoor mapping apps and services using the same highly accurate and detailed data on any app, website, or operating system.
OGC said that members Apple, Autodesk, Esri, Google, New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DOITT), Ordinance Survey Limited and Safe Software shared their support for the adoption.
In a recent interview with Location Business News, Judd Swanson, IMDFaaS senior vice president, geospatial and indoor positioning, said that the seal of approval from these major indoor positioning players “has blown the doors off of siloed” platforms.
The real benefit of IMDF for organizations pursuing indoor maps and location services is the establishment of a standardized indoor format for creating their building's digital twin—and to bring GPS-level functionality and user experience indoors, Swanson said.
In a prepared statement, Scott Simmons, OGC’s chief standards officer, said it was exciting to see explosive growth in the use of IMDF as it is now part of the organization’s standards baseline for more integration opportunities.
The OGC said the IMDF along “with any OGC standard,” is free to download and use.
5G Spectrum Auction Raises $81 Billion, Could Spur Autonomous Vehicle Growth
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent 5G auction brought in more than $81 billion. Verizon, bidding under the Cellco Partnership name, spent a colossal $45 billion on 3,511 spectrum licenses.
In second place was AT&T, which spent $23 billion for 1,621 licenses. The third highest bid went to T-Mobile with $9 billion for 142 licenses.
5G is expected to propel new AR and VR applications and spur rapid development of autonomous vehicles as network speeds increase. The carriers advocating 5G have championed location integration strategies for years.
Harman Buys V2X in 5G Edge Company
Harman International said it was buying all of the assets of Savari, a Silicon Valley-based automotive technology company developing vehicle-to-everything communications (V2X) technology in 5G Edge and automotive devices.
The company, which didn’t disclose financial terms, said Savari’s software and hardware technology will improve Harman’s automotive telematics and advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) capabilities.
Savari makes V2X sensor products and edge-based analytics for automotive and smart infrastructure, the company said. This includes Vehicle-to-Infrastructure, Vehicle-to-Phone for pedestrians and bicyclists, Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Infrastructure-to-Phone.
When the deal closes, Savari employees will join Harman, owned by Samsung, to work in the company’s automotive division.
Contact: Dawn Geary, Harman, Dawn.Geary@harman.com, www.harman.com.
When Biz Dev Gets Lazy…
Something annoying we all have seen:
Other Location News:
Watch Out, Google Maps: With Amazon Location Service, The Location Cloud Is Here. Forbes.
“Amazon Location Service introduces the market category of the location cloud and uproots Google Maps’ decade-long stronghold in a market.”
The Value of Location Intelligence for Retailers. Geospatial World.
“Location Intelligence (LI) solutions for the retail industry have been selling like hotcakes.”
Self-Driving Startup Aurora Acquiring Lidar Company. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Aurora is buying Santa Clara, Calif.-based Ours Technology.
Android Auto Update Includes Car Games and Split-Screen Function. Roadshow by CNET.
“When enabled, drivers can see a real-time view of Google Maps and media controls to further consolidate functions on the screen.”
Verizon to Acquire Autonomous Navigation Company incubed IT. GPS World.
“The acquisition will expand Verizon’s robotic capabilities to power the future of robotic automation for enterprise customers.”
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Location Industry Briefs
L3Harris Technologies Gets $137 Million Navigation Payload Contracts
L3Harris Technologies last week grabbed $137 million in contracts for four navigation payload Mission Data Units (MDU), the company said. Prime contractor Lockheed Martin [LMT] chose L3Harris to build the first two digital MDUs for future GPS III Follow-On (GPS IIIF) satellites.
In other company news, L3Harris became the newest company to join the GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA). The industry group advocates GPS’ protection, promotion and enhancement around the world, the company said.
Nextscape Launches Bike Anti-Theft Product
Nextscape Inc. rolled out AlterLock anti-theft IoT device for cyclists for preorders in the UK and continental Europe by May, the company said. The company said, amid the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the number of bike theft cases in London have tripled.
AlterLock features an anti-theft alarm and GPS-based tracking system. The unit costs 114.99 pounds or 134.99 euros. Coverage areas include Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and the UK. The coverage is based on the Sigfox footprint, the company said.
Contact: Nextscape, https://www.nextscape.net/en.
Indoor Location Industry Sees Continued Acquisitions
Despite the recent pandemic, M&A deals in the indoor location area have maintained a steady pace of 4-5 deals a year, according to a new report from Grizzly Analytics. At the high end of the spectrum, prices have increased to up to $400 Million for the highest priced recent deal and $165 Million for the second highest. At the lower end, many earlier stage companies have been acquired in the $2-3 Million range.
A newly updated report from Grizzly Analytics gives prices and strategic details for 33 acquisitions in the indoor location area. While the highest priced indoor location acquisitions have historically involved chip-based technologies, recent acquisitions have been more varied, the company said.
“A few years ago the focus of indoor location M&A was all around pure localization technologies. The biggest deal to date is in fact for a chip-based localization technology company with strong market share. But a large number of deals in the past two years have been for application layer companies, enabling acquirers that already have localization to better bring their solutions to market.” says Bruce Krulwich, founder of Grizzly Analytics.
Contact: Bruce Krulwich, Grizzly Analytics, info@grizzlyanalytics.com, www.grizzlyanalytics.com.
CalAmp Rolls Out App UI, Partners with Alarm.com
CalAmp [CAMP] said it rolled out a flexible user interface (UI) for its CalAmp iOn app for fleet and asset management that delivers insights to managers in commercial, government and construction organizations. CalAmp iOn improves workflows and allows users to analyze business-critical data they need to increase fleet efficiency, cost-savings and safety, the company said.
In other company news, CalAmp, with Alarm.com [ALRM] have developed an integrated security platform to help people stay informed about their vehicle’s status and unlock more home automation capabilities, the company said. Alarm.com Connected Car combines vehicle monitoring and the integration with the Alarm.com smart home security system. The product features vehicle insights, notifications and home automation through a custom app.
Contact: Christopher Basso, Alarm.com, press@alarm.com, www.alarm.com.
GTX Integrates Voice Assistant into GPS Location Platform
GTX Corp. [GTX] said it has integrated smart voice technology into its suite of GPS devices and management tools.
By incorporating natural language processing (NLP) and voice assistant features into its GPS tracking backend platform with Amazon Echo, Google Home or IBM Watson, customers will be able to retrieve relevant information about devices such as location and movement, the company said.
In coordination with the launch of its completely re-engineered 4G LTE GPS SmartSole and module, users will be able to call alerts, set geo-fences and know where family members, or even pets are with a simple voice command.
To try out the new GTX Corporate Skill voice assisted technology on your Amazon Echo device click on this link.
Contact: Nelson Skip Riddle, GTX Corp., NSRiddle@GTXCorp.com.
Pallet Alliance Gains Patent for IoT Tracking Platform
Pallet Alliance has been awarded a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its IntelliPallet platform. The platform integrates IoT-enabled location and environmental sensors into wooden pallets for greater supply chain and logistics visibility, the company said.
The IntelliPallet technology is compatible with mobile (cellular), Bluetooth, LoRaWAN, and Sigfox protocols, which enable Pallet Alliance to offer pallet tracking products, including IoT connectivity, location, and data analysis. The product works indoors and outdoors, the company said.
Contact: Mike Jones, Pallet Alliance, mike@tpai.com, www.tpai.com.
New USPS Mail Truck is Loaded With Telematics Capability
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